Pareidolia

the shapes we see in clouds, 

the familiarity we find in

otherwise meaningless patterns. 

     that moment when the clouds 

          were shaped like a wispy feather, 

when the stitches on her skin 

seemed to spell out her name, 

when the roseate petals resembled his face. 

     when alone in nature, among the trees and 

          soil, meaning seems to sprout from

undiscovered crannies—letting us know that we’re 

never truly alone, and that our essence

 is infused in the nooks of nature.

it looks unspectacular at first. 

but when examined from a different

     perspective, in a divergent lighting, 

          we see sense and awareness 

bloom forth—in the motifs of a human face,

an instrument, a pair of glasses, a pearly wing… 

in space, there have been sightings

of faces and creatures embedded

      among the celestial dust. although the observation

            can be a bit perturbing, it’s comforting 

nonetheless—for it reminds us that humanity,

isolated as it is, is watched over
by a benign presence.