A poem by Loretta Strharsky
“When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are…”
Hey, Jiminy Cricket,
Remember when I sang that song
To myself, too self-conscious to sing it out loud?
Did I really think dreams came true?
Or did I know it was it just fanciful pretending?
I pretend a little girl now, elbows on the window ledge,
Chin braced by my hands
I watch as a sliver moon barely clears my neighbor’s frosted roof top
Breaking through a halo of cotton candy clouds.
I wait for the first star to rise in anticipation
Of come true wishes
“If your heart is in your dreams
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do.”
Then, with no direction required, the fine film of fingerling clouds dissipates.
The eastern sky from my window becomes a dramatic stage
Darker than hot chocolate, no marshmallows, thank you.
Seemingly all at once constellations populate the heavens
Unnamed stars stand at attention
A few grace the darkness brighter than the others.
If there is more than one first star, then what?
Are they all first stars?
I let first star wishes scatter through the sky
Bright, bold,
Waiting for dreams to unfold.
“Like a bolt out of the blue Fate steps in and sees you through When you wish upon a star Your dreams come true”
12/07/2021
Voltaire: The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor