Handmade (a poem about evidence)
I gaze at the heavens,
searching for you, my God. (Ps. 123:1, ICEL Psalter)
Handmade
Barefoot in the dirt outside our tent
in the dark, I bend back my head
and open my heart to the sky.
I hope to see heaven unravel,
galaxies take up the thread
then spin, then snap as
larger, more practiced hands
pull spacetime taut
weaving, reweaving
uncountable yards of stuff and nothing,
endless bolts of evidence—
Meanwhile, after billion-year trips,
photons land without fanfare
in my skin
in my eyes
right where I stand;
primordial lights
like jewels, sewn by hand
onto the dress
of a princess.
—K.S.