Stars

You only know what happens
once you write it down you reduce it
you succeed in getting them
to shut up there is no question
of stars having mouths because
history is always present all around us
you lay down on the grass and it is wet
this is the sky and it is dark
so you don't go beyond this
you don't sit thinking what's next
in your corduroy car jacket
and simple pants your life is
so constant you can barely breathe
making each mistake one at a time
so the corrections can come in
the same order you made them in
someone is kind enough to point
them out for you making you dissolve
for your own well-being
the difficulties are pointed out
in a calm voice not your own but you are
there and the counting of your errors
is significant and monumental
each one weighing more than the next
the shifting of your ways has begun
even as you try to stand upright you are being
eaten alive by something forced to tilt
when all you wanted was this
sky and these stars with mouths.