Looking Up

Glassy sidewalks reflect streetlight stars
Rain drops tickle mirrored surface
Lamp light twinkles a distant reality
Walking alone in a winter rain too cold for dancing

Ineffective wind can’t lift sodden leftover leaves
Instead plucks at my coat and plays with my hat
Buildings glow with internal illumination
Hinting at hidden lives and loves

I wrap my scarf tighter to hold in my own secrets
Snug against night and escape of my silent thoughts
As the cement turns to glitter and sparkles
My feet splash through ageless reflected universes

Try to tiptoe across streams of nebulae runoff
And Milky Way stars swirling down drains
And the tiptoe turns to a tap dance in the darkness
Because no one is watching except the sky

And so it goes. Even though there is enough negativity to choke a white shark, I’m hearing the dance beat. Some would say I’m an irrepressible optimist. Others label me naive or shallow. Or worse. I’ve been told I am cold and emotionless. But they only see the outside. I feel deeply. I think deeply. I do not show my emotions. Perhaps it is a self-defense mechanism similar to the stoicism of the animals. An injured animal carries on concealing the injury, hurt, and pain for fear of becoming a target. Even those animals at the top of the food chain exhibit the same behavior. Probably to retain their position in the group. Humans are not so far removed from this dynamic. With all the pain in this life which we cannot escape, I still savor the moments of beauty. Indeed I seek out whatever wonder and awe is available. It doesn’t cost a dime to look up and search for a twinkling star or marvel at the brightness of the moon. There is music in the air and a rhythm in nature that is just begging us to dance.