Reaching

Write a poem about something that will always be out of reach. PPC6

Dad always said I should reach for the stars.

When I was young, sitting on Dad's shoulders,
it was almost as if I could touch them,
but not quite. Yet. There was always tomorrow.

Dad always said I should reach for the stars.

In high school, the galaxies seemed as far away
as getting that cute boy to even notice I existed.
The one boy who did was very sweet. And gay.

Dad always said I should reach for the stars.

I aimed differently. I was accepted to Columbia University,
Bryn Mawr, Vassar, but chose a two-year college in Vermont.
I was a star there and never knew it.

Dad always said I should reach for the stars.

Always, always, I was a writer. When my first book
was published, I was incandescent. My dreams grew,
and I realized that I needed to keep reaching.

Dad always said I should reach for the stars.

What he never told me, and what I learned,
was that it was the act of reaching
that was so important.

Dad always said I should reach for the stars.

21 lines