Little You, Looking Up

Little you, looking up

fluent in the language of stars

and of sky, lights so fierce and far

and bright, you thought

they must be eternal

Little you, sleeping under

a glow-in-the-dark map

of your imagination, under

your grandmother's quilt

its constellation of stitches

Little you, unaware

that even stars flare out

Where did you read it first, or hear it?

an asteroid, hundreds of years from now

ending life on earth

Your mother tried to reassure you:

We'll be long gone by then

she said, which only made it worse:

the planet gone, and you, and her

Little you, no longer eternal

crying under your grandmother's quilt

the sky a floor that could swallow

you whole

Remember: before you were bound

by Earth's petty rotations, you spoke

to the sun in her language of stars.

Fearless you, looking up

unafraid of change

Older now, still looking up

sleeping under your grandmother's quilt

though her own bright sun

faded years ago

Name your daughters after stars

Tuck them under your grandmother's quilt

So whether they're looking down or up

they'll see themselves reflected

Small and fierce and bright

Meticulous. Unhurried

Possessing their own

gravity. All time

All sky. All light

Almost eternal