It Came In Beauty

The old year ended
In beauty

Pale clouds glowing in the night sky
Thin yet rounded
Drops of diluted watercolors from a masterful brush
Brightening, not darkening, the sky

The moon full and bright
Sailing high above the world
Shining between and sometimes through
Those lightly veiling clouds

Between the veils were the stars
Twinkling faint and remote
Piercing in their beauty

A faint moonbow surrounded the moon
Delicate color in the white light

"Do we look at the stars
Because we are human
Or are we human
Because we look at the stars?"

When first I read Stardust
I thought it a foolish question
Obviously
We look at the stars
Because we are human
Or everyone in LA
Is only half-human

But now I think
Perhaps that conclusion
Is not so absurd after all

Something shifted in me
That night in the desert
When first I saw the stars

But it is not only Angelenos
Who have forgotten
How to be human

The new year came in beauty
But how many were looking?

Something shifts in me
When I see the stars
A longing that has nothing to do with space
And everything to do with heaven

The new year came in beauty
And Beauty will save the world