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MICHAELA, by                    
First Line: Michaela's small brown hand caught mine
Last Line: In full possession of the stars.


Michaela's small brown hand caught mine
And led me out into the night,
Beyond the grove of fir and pine,
Out where the house loomed tall and white.
"Above our farm are all the stars;
Our neighbors haven't one," she said.
We looked for Alphard, Pollux, Mars
Among the bright worlds overhead.
We traced the glittering Pleiades,
And Leo staring fiercely down.
Michaela said: "I'll give you these
To shine above your house in town."
I bent to kiss her and to say:
"The stars were made for all to see,
Yet, just because they're far away,..."
And then I paused. No, not by me
Would she be told a truth to shake
Convictions born of innocence.
"Too soon," I thought, "she will remake
Her little world. Experience
Will wound her soul -- for good, for ill --
And all too soon we'll see the scars."
So when I left her she was still
In full possession of the stars.





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