I am small enough to sit on the floor
of the back seat behind

my father driving us safely
through the darkest night

my mother navigating next to him
my brother and sister asleep nearby

I search for the spiral of the milky way 
that I have heard about but instead

I see God in the stars and it is here
that I learn to pray—not in a church building

the vastness out of my window
is beyond my understanding

and I fall in love with the creator
every time I look up

Decades later I will search for the milky way 
with someone who will change me

there will be a song that makes me flinch
that leads me there despite my destination

it will disrupt my beliefs 
and cause me to stumble and descend

to never be guileless 
to never have the faith of a child again