April 3 - Falling Off the Earth

I used to wonder when I was young,

Walking in the nighttime; all those stars up there

Glaring coldly down at me.

I used to wonder then, "Does God see me?"

   

I'd lie flat on my back on some dewy hillside,

The long arch of heaven stretched out in front of me, above me,

And below my feet - infinite space

And me hanging there, stuck to the side of the Earth.

Sometimes I'd grab the grass in panic

As if to keep from falling off to go tumbling

Down into all that emptiness 

Filled with stars like fire and wheels of light.

I am so small, my entire universe contained

Within this bony bucket that sits upon my shoulders

Looking out upon the universe entire

So vast it hardly knows I'm here; a blink and then I'm gone.

I need an eternity to hike among the stars, stumbling over

Something new every day; new to be seen,

Heard, tasted, touched and smelled.

Surely God sees me and knows how much I want 

....to fall off the Earth.

© 2014 by Tom King