Sky People
When I was a child,
I imagined
that people lived
in the sky
on the clouds.
The sky was a
vast sea
of melted sapphires
upon which floated
islands
woven from
snow, cotton, and cobwebs.
The Sky People lived
on these isles
in houses of mist
and moonlight.
They had blue skin
so that they blended
into the sky,
and their hair was white,
fine like gauze threads.
They didn't have cars
but rode
shape-changing animals:
horses, turtles, dragonflies. . .
whatever the Sky People
wanted them to be.
At night,
each family
would gather around
its own bonfire.
But they weren't
red and orange
like Earth fire or sunset.
No! The sky flames
were silver and white
and held an icy shimmer
like tears.