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.