I didn’t think I would.
I had been living in the dark so long
I forgot the sky existed.

Eyes lowered.
Always down.
Never up.

Counting regrets
like steps
in a spiral that only knew one direction.

And then
in the water beneath me
a reflection.

Not mine.
Not memory.
Something brighter.

Curiosity,
pretending to be bravery,
made me look up.

I saw
the stars again.