Celestial By Tamiko Dooley

Celestial

When minutes crawl at ever slower pace 
And silence prowls lion-like by the bed, 
As memories cast shadows on my face 
And day’s first breaking drowns my heart with dread, 
I creep barefoot across the darkened room 
To brush aside the shades that shut me in; 
I seek, mole-eyed, for answers in the gloom 
And wonder how my journey should begin. 
Then one by one, each lonesome star appears 
Whilst trav’lling in its orbit lives and dies, 
Yet as the dimness of the heavens clears 
So wondrous constellations fill the skies. 
Then each no longer solitary seems 
As part of greater gathering it gleams. 

Tamiko is a half-Japanese mother of two, born and brought up in England. She speaks several languages. When there’s no pandemic, she’s hired as a wedding pianist from time to time.