Wishing upon a satellite

Darkness

swallowing up the sunset

streaks of gold and orange and pink fading to a dark navy blue

then, finally

once the sky has been painted over with a seemingly endless coat of black

the stars come out

one, then two

quickly more and more appear here and there

what might've been Orion's belt is visible, but I can't tell the difference between stars and named clusters of stars

then

movement catches my eye

a star-like spot on the vast and cluttered, yet empty, sky

it could be a falling star

a rising wish

one begins to form -

I have lots -

spun out of the shining thread of possibility

woven with the delicate hands of a child's imagination

but then the star blinks

or something like it

and as it moves steadily across the sky

with no glowing trail or anything shooting-star-like

my hope wilts a little as I realize

it's just a satellite

nothing more

but

since wishing on shooting stars probably doesn't actually do anything

I still tell my wish to the open and cloudless night sky

as I wish upon a satellite

for things to change

for life to have a nice, welcoming turn

other than all of the sad and depressing twists lately

and since I'm a little short on shooting stars

I wish upon a satellite

because that's my best option right now.