Stars will return

One night I climbed the hill behind the house and looked down on a simple dirt road where I was surprised to see long lines of people shuffling into the distance. Their difficult breathing and their coughing were probably caused by the cloud of dust their march had created.
"Who are you and why is this happening?" I asked one of them.
"We are believers and must keep going," and then he added, "our work is important and concerns the self."
"But all your dust is darkening the stars," I said.
"Nay, nay," he said, "we are only passing through, the stars will return."

Mark Strand