clouds will not lift

when I asked the little girl, “what color is the sky?”
she says, “dark.”

darkness will not extinguish what little light is left shining

I asked the little girl, “what about the stars?”
she pauses, considers this question thoroughly before
letting out an exhausted sigh;
she says, “there is only one dark sky, there are millions of stars. just look. you’ll see.”

yes, I see.