My Orion

Last night I awoke to the sign of Orion, and the big dipper pouring beauty into her countenance. Though the stars say she is a Capricorn, a meager goat, I see Orion’s majesty every time I stare into here full lips and wide Sophia Lauren Smile. Her sleek and slender body bodes of Spartan stubbornness. A stubbornness that’s had me fuming on the wrong kind of sides, of the wrong kinds of days. Most days, we spend our lives like firefighters, putting out 101 degree fevers, cars breaking down, and trying to make ends meet on a student’s stipend, And as days pass, we see separation as an impossibility for how could we possibly survive without each other? But last night, I was freed from the stress of overfilled garbage cans and overdue research projects, To see her high and lifted up in the unconditional light which she shines for so many, So many children, to whom she’s been a second mother, screaming, “Ms. Lucas!!!, Ms. Lucas!!!,” as we see them in the mall. The countless times that she’s saved me form suicide with a hope unfettered and sincere, You see last night, I got a quick glimpse into my life as heaven sees it, and I saw my wife for the first time, lifted high into the deep night, shining for the world. Oh don’t get me wrong, I truly see her everywhere, Every where there is courage, I see her wringing the neck of the crack head that almost kidnapped our oldest in Chicago, Every time I see kindness, I see her soothing voice in my ear saying, “Keep going baby, you’re almost out of the tunnel.” Whenever I see pain, I see her face when she looked down at her dead father’s body, stoic and resolved that his tragedy would not mar her memory of his greatness. Every time I see strength, I see a woman who buried her brother in the same summer of her honeymoon and still smiled wide with sincerity. But last night, God removed the veil, and I saw her through heaven’s eyes, Glorious and heroic, And in that moment I realized that nothing can stop me, because I sleep next to Orion. Machel, the hero of old.