I stand in sand, waves lapping at my ankles. I walk through jungle leaves, fingertips grazing the dampness. The warmth of the sun slips between shadows, glistens on the water, melting me into a cadence of everything around me. I pet a wild donkey in a field, play with a sea turtle under the bubbles, converse with an orangutan nesting in a tree, balance a hummingbird on my finger, step ahead of a deer who follows, lift a kitten from a container, invite a moose into my circle.
All of them are wandering, exploring this world–curious, lost, wild, tender. I offer them a home, gathering the pieces around me, gently accepting them as they are and safely holding them in my palms. They glow and pulse, fragile, but alive with potential and limited by an invisible binding. They are so many shapes and colors, but the universe that exists within them is endless, itching to expand. Escape their cage. They are beautiful in their contradiction, majestic in their uniqueness. I love each of them.
I place these treasures in my shoulder bag, cradling them alongside the others, and return to my dark sky. The black blanket is littered with tiny lights, suspended and sparkling, and a giant full moon casting brightness into the deep. One by one I cast the pieces into the sky, planting them alongside the others. They nestle into the warmth and shine against the contrast. Each one is a glimmer, but together they amplify, twinkling in a rhythm that illuminates the dark. I am the moon and we are the night. Finding the souls that feel unseen, seeing them in beautiful ways, and joining forces to do the same for others.
I move through this world extending an invitation to others, asking them to let me see them, to celebrate them, and if they are so kind, to let me take that radiance with me on my journey, so that we can show others their light.
We are wanderers,
curious and lost,
wild and tender.
I gather them in my palms–
fragile, glowing,
small bodies carrying infinite worlds.
They pulse against the cage of being seen,
aching to spil out,
to be more,
to be free,
I love them as they are.
I carry them with me,
tucked into a shoulder bag
already full of stars.
When I return to the dark sky
the moon is waiting.
I cast each one upward–
not letting go,
but planting.
They find each other.
They make constellations.
Alone, a flicker.
Together, an entire night sky.
I am the moon.
We are the night.
I walk this world
inviting others to be seen,
to be loved,
to let their light travel with me
so we can show the world
how bright it has always been.
