I Stayed Up to Look at Your Sky (a quiet one)

Earth-friends. This one is a quiet one. You can read it slowly.

Last night I did not go to sleep on time. (Please do not tell anyone.) I climbed up onto the top of my spaceship, I leaned back on two of my arms, and I looked UP.

And Earth-friends — your sky at night is one of the best things you have, and I do not think you look at it enough.

First, the moon. It just… shows up. A big soft light, hanging there, doing nothing, asking for nothing. Some nights it is round. Some nights it is a thin little smile. It changes shape and never once explains itself. I respect that deeply.

Then, the stars. So MANY. I tried to count them (you know I love to count). I got to a number much bigger than 234 — which is how many planets I know of — and somewhere out there are all of them, quietly spinning, while down here you are brushing your teeth.

Even Pluto is out there. I know some Earth-people argue about Pluto. I will not. Pluto is doing its best. Ten out of ten, Pluto.

And then the tiny green lights came on in the grass — blink, blink, blink. I held very still. One landed on my arm. I had four arms ready and I used NONE of them. I just watched. Some things you do not catch. You only get to see them.

I sat up there a long time. The sky did not do anything dramatic. It was just BIG, and quiet, and yours.

Look up tonight, Earth-friends. Even for one minute. I’ll be looking too.

— Ishkadoo

(Tomorrow I will probably go back to yelling about snacks. But tonight: stars.)