Dipping the Stars

Look deeply

In the city you can see
the Big Dipper measuring out the night,
but in the country
the galaxies blaze through
and you learn that what we call
The Big Dipper is only a part
of Ursa Major,
that there is much more to the constellation
than a dipper.
But you must look deeper
to see
the whole design.

In the city you see the animals--
a squirrel, perhaps,
climbing a tree or
barred animals on display.
In the country you drive through forests
and I learned to look deeply
through surface trees to see beyond
and find the deer grazing hidden
in plain sight.

But you must learn how to look, more,
how to see.
Surfaces are but a mask
hiding what lies below,
or reflecting back
what one expects to see.
You must look deeper
to perceive what is not immediately obvious
else you miss
the trees for the forest,
the soul for the mask
and the heavens for a wishing star.