We saw the Milky Way

Standing on a Cumbrian hill
we saw the Milky Way

and it smiled down at us
and told us not to fear,
small, insignificant, human dots
with such grandiose schemes.

We saw the Milky Way
and it smiled down at us
and told us not to worry
because we are not as omnipotent
or dangerous as we think we are.

We saw the Milky Way
and it told us to be brave
and courageously tell our heartfelt stories,
including the dusty, shameful,
shadowy parts that we try to hide.

We saw the Milky Way
and it told us to be generous,
to be kind,
to be loving,
because at the ending of our days
this is what we will wish to be known for,
not the hours of overtime we worked,
or the days we spent unnecessarily apart from our families,
or the fights we had,
or the amount of money we made.

We saw the Milky Way
and it told us to be silent,
to cease the inane chatter
and wait, spell-stopped
until we can hear the
music of the Milky Way.

Standing on a Cumbrian hill
we saw the Milky Way.

© 2 September 2013