Astronomer
I remember the night your clock kept me awake.
After I discovered rubbing your back
wouldn’t put me to sleep, I went outside
with a blanket to shiver on your porch. I stared
at the night sky which rippled with airplanes
and the blasts from train horns. I looked
for the three constellations I knew
and found the cluster of banded stars
which a farmer once told me was the Milky Way.
I thought there was nothing strange
about not being able to sleep in a new bed
and was content with the blanket on your porch,
pretending to be happy, gawking at the sky
like I had never seen it before.
