Stargazer

The stars gazed back at her,

Jewels strewn across a velvet void.

When her mind wandered,

She fancied she came from beyond them.

Something had always told her so.

She knew it wasn't true.

Or at least highly improbable.

Despite what the Something told her,

She knew that her origins were far from mysterious.

She was born in a hospital on Earth.

Not ten miles from where she stood,

Eyes transfixed upward,

Dancing between points of cold, ancient light.

Some believed that humans were made of stardust.

She’d never looked into that theory much.

But when she thought about such possibilities

The tiny, gold cross around her neck weighed a thousand pounds.

Its fine, lustrous chain tore into her neck,

Dragging her eyes downward.

Still, she longed for a connection to them.

They held so many wonders

Possibilities, adventures,

Or maybe nothing at all.

Nobody knew for certain,

And that was enough for her.

Her eyes found Leo,

Her constellation.

Or so glossy supermarket tomes told her.

She’d never believed herself to be a lion,

Majesty incarnate, heard for miles.

But she’d been wrong before.

Proud Leo stood sentinel in the vacuum,

She was bound by gravity, but shared his duties.

How many beings fell under Leo’s guard?

Was her mudball his only charge?

Did others look to him teeming with questions?

Did others think themselves his kin?

She left Leo to his work,

Her eyes cut a panorama across galaxies,

Scanning for shrouded wonders.

Her frantic, alien heart,

Calling out to the stars.

Scintillating silence was their only reply.