i have lived in
metropolitan areas
all my life
always looking up
struggling to see
distantly burning stars

hoping to catch more
than the bright line
of orion’s belt or
the corners
of the two dippers
for the only constellations
i can consistently identify
on clear nights

but maybe it is time
to stop searching
the night skies
and start looking
in our sprawling cities
for far less
hazy glimpses
of cosmic light

after all
we are
each of us
made of stardust