Constellations

my hand orbits over the page

pen following the trajectory of my fingertips

pulled across the page by a gravitational force

until my words are a compass, 

needle pointing north

i let my grip on the soil loosen

welcoming new roots

and the ascension of a star

instructions linger in the margins

half-erased transcriptions

left by hands that once trembled too

may you learn to refine the ways of your mind 

 may you be gracious and kind

may the lost become seekers of meaning 

 may meaning guide the wandering home 

may you find grit in the grooves of my footprints

 may you be brave enough to fill them

in my moments of doubt 

I look up at the motionless stars 

of the universe 

in the sky they line themselves under my fingertips

ivory keys embossed with unformulated answers

and as I hope beyond hope 

that my sound can reverberate 

through the cosmos, into the earth

I begin to play.