A STAR IN THE UNIVERSE by Tammy T. Stone

 This is a reflection on travel, in the many forms it takes...

Do you wander too, from your porch, or maybe across the world? Have you been doing this your whole life, or has your journey just begun? May we meet there, and share our stories.

A Star in the Universe

by Tammy T. Stone

This is the wall I write my story on,

through the tapestry of this, our heritage.

My palm, my barely-etched fingerprints

endowed with everything’s secrets

have trailed in sand and touched the clouds

(so who am I and what is the universe?)

Trained, I can see illness, health and

unbroken happiness with a quick scan of

bone and skin because everything large

folds into the smallest parts, because our hearts

are bound only by stories, and the heart wants

to see further than this. Look closely,

examine the little details for the most

beautiful portrait. And the other way around?

I know I am rippling through the universe,

but where can I see it? I can try to look inside;

I don’t know how to see my imprint in the stars.

I have to believe I’m there, where it’s shining,

because I know that I am here. I feel this.

Things move through me that leave me wondrous

and sometimes left behind. Lately it’s

somewhere in the middle, between things.

Old fears don't cling to me anymore, and

some of the great passions, too, have vanished.

I’m not sure what I need to create, or talk about.

But the stories still hold me in rapture.

I believe that to live a long, full life,

passion is necessary. Purpose is essential.

Maybe that’s what these travels have been about:

looking past this familiar archive and up to where

the stars, having given us their light, tread

gently into what lies next. Up there I can belong

to something other than myself. I can look up

and my gaze is reflected, every piece a refraction

of time, yes, my heart has been singing awhile now.

I hear the music and feel parts of my body

vibrating, not telling me what I should be doing

when all there is to do is be free.

Tammy T. Stone is a Canadian writer, photographer and chronicler of life as it passes through us. Always a wanderer, she's endlessly mesmerized by people, places and everything in between; the world is somehow so vast and so small. She feels so lucky to have been able to work, learn, live and travel far and wide, writing, photographing and wellness-practicing along the way. She invites you to see some of her recent photography here and to connect with her on her writer's page, twitter and her blog, There’s No War in World, here.

~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~