After "Harbor Dreams" by Bei Dao
When starlight speckles the sky
the night air swallows me cold
step by step the crickety ladder
pulls me to the sky
pulls me to my dreams
I returned to the dock by my home
bringing gospel and glasses for the wind
the gospel expanded the universe
the glasses expanded my universe
crickets’ musical legs
sing in the revelation of heaven
a mollusk slithers leaving
parts of its body in the unknown
when the waves wash over me
my limbs sink into depths of black tea
starlight serenely filled my lungs
turning me to white dwarf
I walked to where sky embraces sea
and stopped only
to plant a kiss on its cheek
The wind blew upon the sun and moon
sailors searched for life on Mars
through desperate telescope
true, I’m not an astronaut
but created to be celestial
so I’ll become dust on the side of a spaceship
like a snail to a leaf
and take off to return home