I was traveling briefly in the morning.
It was raining and I walked slowly.
I approached a bridge and paused.

Drops melted into the stream beneath the trees.
The ripples reflected a flickering light.
I saw it as if they were stars twinkling in the sky.
Their brief constellations brought me to a night long ago.

I wasn’t walking, for my mind was running.
I slept briefly by a highway.
I woke in the darkness lost and alone.
In my fear and confusion, I looked up.

That night, the sky’s canopy was glorious.
I was amazed by many shining constellations.
Myriad stars filled my eyes with their beauty.

Today I saw water winking at me on the stream.
I felt the storm crying in sympathy for me.
The sky had brought me back to that night.
A teardrop fell and I was healed again.

W. Wayne B.

Some moments in my life are preserved forever. I feel the feelings again when I am reminded of past events. Sometimes the feeling is melancholic. Rarely the feeling is of a time of joy. This poem brings back a very difficult time in my life. I was running away, but I didn’t know what from.

That night I was fighting my mind. Blows followed blows as I lost control. Finally, I was exhausted. I had no more energy to attack. On my way between Indianapolis and Champaign-Urbana, I parked on the side of the road and fell asleep. I don’t know how long I was sleeping. I was not thinking very clearly and in an emotional torment

When I woke up, I looked up to the sky and saw the most beautiful stars I have ever known. I saw billions of stars. They were bright and lovely. I do not remember the story after that.

Recently I was reminded of the sky that night. I walked down to the small river through town and over a bridge. It had started raining lightly. As the raindrops fell, I saw the sky reflected in the ripples. Each droplet seemed to flicker as it hit the water. It brought me back to that awful night.

The connection was drawn tight. I found the night vision come back. The healing that was produced was amazing. I don’t see the loss of control and pain now. Now I see a beautiful sky as if it were a dream.

The pain is gone now. I smile when I see the sky. City lights hide the stars’ beauty. I love nature and a pretty sky. When I was younger, I would get up and wander into the pasture. There the stars shone brightly. In the moonlight I could see the hill and sleeping cattle. In the new cut fields, I smelled a wonderful aroma.

I don’t need to run away anymore. I can be happy here, where I am right now. I can stay here and be comfortable in my own skin.