asterism

(asterism, n: 1. a small group of stars; 2. a star-shaped figure
exhibited in some crystals by reflected light)

by david ulansey

*

among the random stars

we seek

the hieroglyph of light.

*

sunset beyond summer,

whispered signs in the deeper wood,

paths to the clearing

in the center of the rain,

river of soft metal and of leaves--

do we stand

among the fragments of ourselves,

never finding the message

that we sent?

*

tonight the wind

bears to us

the fragrance of the stars.

*

we are reflections

of each other

in the broken mirror

of the heart.

*

though my love

is far away,

every night

the same stars

shine on us both.

*

tonight my love

is so far away

that above her

the stars shine,

while above me

clouds darken the sky.

*

how slowly the seasons

turn in the wind

watching themselves fall.....

when will they lie still again,

taking their rest

in the shadow of

the last tree?

*

tonight the fireflies

are more numerous

than the stars.

does this mean

we have lost our way?

*

we sow fallen leaves

in each others' eyes

to gather someday

from our frozen tears

a harvest of suns.

*

summer has gone,

yet there remains

a blue flower:

the autumn sky.

*

will we ever understand

what happened

the first time

we looked in each others' eyes?

*

today the sky

was so clear

that for a moment

it ceased to be blue.

*

and we who rest

in the steepled turning

of the dark-eyed night,

extinct birds will guide us

like broken stars

to the lost house

of the future.

*

among the branches

the wind rustles

the autumn stars.

*

as sometimes

the moon appears

surprisingly

in the sunlit sky,

so sometimes

in the daily round

unexpectedly

i think of you.

*

trees planted in rows

by the river, cascade

of light and flowers,

we move through our silences

like faces that no one remembers:

do you recognize

the invisible smile?

*

tomorrow the sun

will look the same

as it does today:

but you will be gone.

*

leaves change colors

just before they fall.

does something in us change

just before

we fall in love?

*

there is no such thing

as a perfect plum blossom:

each has its flaws.

but how sweet

the fragrance!

*

tonight the sky

is so clear

that all things

become stars.

*