Nighttime Sky

Sometimes,
late at night,
while my wife sleeps softly in our warm bed,
I open the door quietly
and slip outside.

I stand still...
sometimes for a few moments,
sometimes for what seems forever,
staring into the impenetrable deep of the nighttime sky.

Stars glisten in that blackness.
How many dreams,
I wonder,
twinkle in the sky late at night?

After all,
wishes are made
upon the first star sighted,
and with so many people in the world
I figure
everyone must see them all at some point.

Or...
do stars,
like wishes,
shift,
dancing in
and out
of our sight,
sometimes twirling closer,
other times leaping away,
until we are so confused
that we no longer are certain
what star we are looking for?

Even if we did find the star
we thought we wished upon,
is it still the same star?
Or did it change
along with our perception?

Fickle creations,
stars are.

With thoughts such as this
I step back onto the porch,
touch my fingers to the cold door knob,
and bid my nighttime sky
good evening
until tommorrow
when,
perhaps,
my vision shall change.