Poetry

Stairway to the Moon

Get your moon shoes on.

When I was a child At night I would lie in bed I was supposed to be sleeping But I was thinking about the moon instead And the stars and the universe it resided in I wondered how to get back there again From the quiet dark space of my room Just to take a peek if only for a little while

In my mind I saw a beautiful winding staircase Stretching up towards the sky As far as I could see with my eye Lined with a beautiful glittering of gold Within it all my eventual truths were foretold Ever so carefully engraved along its banister Narrating the stories of my life I did not yet know

I thought I needed something special To climb the stairs and reach the moon Like a pair of spectacularly shiny moon shoes Maybe they could be blue at noon And at midnight they could contain endless purple hues I could use them to hop on the white cotton clouds Waltz among the brightness in the stars above To be reminded everything is made of love

Then one of those nights in my mind I saw a scene And I was on the moon Basking within the gleam Surrounded by endless magnificent orbs of light They appeared so happy and carefree As if they were a part of everything but of nothing too I wanted them to tell me what to do With this thing called life

To tell me why I was here again to fight But they just laughed merrily And told me I would regain my sight Only on the day I was ready to see Then I would be free Later my moon shoes took me higher So high I thought the stars were not really stars That perhaps the stars were souls watching us in the night Watching us as we sleep Sometimes appearing in the dreams that we keep

Nowadays when I watch the moon at night I remember the dreams I used to have And the scenes I used to see And wonder where my moon shoes have been all these years Have they really been missing all of this time Or did I simply forget they were always mine

Last night I put them on once again And was surprised to find they still fit the same I felt warm as if I were basking in a gentle flame The moon shoes worked their magic As I climbed the golden stairs They brought me my dreams back one by one Whispering their secrets to me Gently reminding me to have some fun

Telling me that the universe is never far Even on the days when it seems out of reach We all still shine brightly single day We are well on our way Towards the moon and to the stars Once again

Thank you to Noorain Hassan, BMS Tree Langdon Josh Balerite Acol Marcus Dr. Preeti Singh Liam Ireland Holly Kellums Bobby J Mattingly for keeping me inspired along the way!