look up, my friend
at the blueberry sky
connect the dots
and discover new constellations
that you can name
after your guinea pig
or your first lover

look down, my friend
and see that the moon
casts shadows too
as it dances
around the body: you
walking in the night
two by two
shadow and you

look forward, my friend
in the direction you’ve chosen;
when you walk at night
I recommend
a destination of darkness
that harks less
than a daylight stride
may you abide
in a sacred womb
not tomb
though both prefer the holiness of darkness

look beside you, my friend
as the poems walk with you
disguised as song
humming wordless verses
like the owls do
all night long
neither you nor she can be wrong

look behind you, my friend
not in fear
but in faith
at the road already taken
that the ancestors paved
a communion of saints
leaving breath for today
a shared bouquet
of flowered inhaling

look within you, my friend
and tenderly see
the gobble-de-gook
that has you up
and walking
at night
looking for reasons
not to sleep
but to dream