One Bright Direction

Theme song for the short story "A Weather Map on the Night of Falling Stars" at the end of "Reading Earth and the Cosmos: An Introduction to Earth Science for High School Students How Sky, Sea, Land, and Stars Connect" Morning wore a silver coat Over roofs still wet with rain I was walking up the hill With a question in my brain Clouds were moving like a thought No one knew how long they’d stay But a little line of blue Kept appearing far away I had maps I could not read I had roads I would not choose Every answer felt too loud Every silence brought the news Then the wind changed in the trees And the light broke through the gray Something quiet in my chest Started learning how to say Maybe I don’t need a sign Written high across the sky Maybe every hidden path Starts with asking why I saw one bright direction Cutting through the dark Not a promise not perfection Just a small and steady spark When the night was wide open And the world held its breath I found more than I was hoping In the space between the steps If the clouds keep changing shape If the road is still unknown I will follow what keeps calling Till the far light feels like home Someone drew the moving air In a language made of lines Told me storms are never still They are stories passing by Every river has a past Every stone has crossed a stream Every star that seems so far Lends its fire to a dream Maybe I don’t need to know Every mile before I start Maybe wonder is a compass Turning softly in the heart I saw one bright direction Cutting through the dark Not a promise not perfection Just a small and steady spark Sky to sea Dust to rain Fire deep below the plain Wind to wave Stone to shore Every ending opens more I don’t have to name it all I don’t have to see the end I can start with what I notice I can let the questions bend Through the hush before the dawn Through the blue beyond the storm There’s a thread of light inside me Taking form I saw one bright direction Rising from the dark Like a quiet constellation Finding room inside my heart One bright direction I can feel it move One bright direction And I’m moving too