Upon a Time

Upon a Time She had tattoos of stars colored in luminous white on her breasts, along her back, near her tailbone, around her belly and down. When we turned off the lights, she shone enough so that we could make love under their light. We were the nut and bolt that riveted held the universe up. I was a stargazer, a star chaser, a star cataloguer. She was shiny paper and I an inkjet. We made art. It was not for sale. It was for life. When people said I should keep my feet on the earth, I thought they must walk on all fours. What else is there but the silhouette of a woman And the burning brilliance of the stars to clutch.