Dark Matter

Aidan reads bedtime stories under a nightlight from distant galaxies
an imagination sublime
he, too young to be forced into the confines of language
deciphers the stars from God script;
despite his limitations, into expressions of his heart.

His father lives within the confines of the ordinary
holds Aidan’s hand on the walk to school
all the while trying to fully capture what it is to be a man
to explain it to the son of a man
who was never his father’s son.

Aidan never thinks about his invisible grandfather
his father bends light to his form constantly afraid
of his ability to follow his father’s deformed path

—unseeable—

His father walks carefully
leaving what he finds of the universe spread out before Aidan’s wide eyes
marveling at his ability to piece together the shadows of the world
how he curves the fabric of space in his miniscule palm
and presents the world with an image
a moment where the secrets lying behind the universe of his eyes
take form
in incredible elegant strokes
to a picture of his father, a man
the most reliable hand he has.