Signs

She was nine, wide-eyed, holding on to her father's hand as the vast darkness dizzied above.
"That is Vega; that is Altair."
He taught her the signs.
"And there Deneb is; summer is coming."

She was sixteen, impressionable, dreaming up romances she and the boy had run out of time for.
"That is Vega; that is Altair."
He kissed her goodbye.
"And there Deneb is; they'll meet again."

Summer arrives, and is past, as lovers come to be and to part.
"That is Vega; that is Altair."
Time moves stories as it does the stars.
"And there Deneb is; right by the Great Rift."

She is forty, farsighted, having traveled more constellations than legends reach.
"That is Vega; that is Altair."
Sometimes things mean simply what they seem.
"And there Deneb is; the sky is clear."