star

starblood

i am fire

my blood is made of stardust and

my soul glows with the fervor of a comet’s tail

i shine

in the presence of retrograde analyses made

by stone-hard hearts revolving around a

black hole of misery and pride

their hate brings pollution, drowning out

the night sky i love, heralding a perma-twilight where

this child of the cosmos struggles to breathe

to shine

but i am made of the same stuff as stars — i have

just as much right to this universe as those bred from

dark matter. their tempers rage like solar flares but

i am a supernova

i burn brighter, bluer

can you see it? that brightest star on the horizon —

unassuming, but unforgettable once spotted

that star that shines through eclipse and equinox alike

that star — is me.

Starlight Guitar

The velveteen sky lies studded with stars

They’re dear friends of old who greet me from afar

Once I knew them by name, but now memory fails

I fumble through my mind but, alas! to no avail

I remember scenes, though, like postcards from the past,

Times I’d bare my soul to the friends I’d amassed

My starry-framed companions shed light on my thoughts

Dilemmas and decisions that tied my heart in knots

I held midnight monologues with my friends, the stars

Who wisely kept their distance, watching me only from afar

They’d listen non-judgementally, never once interrupting,

A friendship born of convenience, but supportive and touching

 

The stars remained there, but I moved on, and forgot

The kindly way they’d listen to my rambling thoughts

My fears, despairs, and anguish, my sorrows and my rage

Their counsel was unparalleled, trustworthy and sage.

Their lessons they taught well, and I never took for granted

The power of an ear for the aggrieved and disenchanted

And so now I am returning to those dear friends of yore

Seeking that compassion that they lent me before

I’ve come armed with a speech, but in a different form

One that I expect will take the starry sky by storm

Because I’m too old now, to go rambling to stars

And invisible ears (though I know they listen from afar)

Imaginary friends, like starlight, are timebound — they expire

And if a human heard my monologue, the consequence would be dire

That’s why I brought my six-string (along with ungloved hands)

A different form of a rant I know the stars will understand

Words are one form of expression, but music moves the soul

And as I strum and sing my songs, I feel myself turn whole

The stars (my friends!) seem to twinkle just a little brighter

And, bit my bit, I let negativity go, let my heart beats lighter

There’s no better cure for inner strife, no matter where you are

That’s why I’ve brought out my guitar, and now sing to the stars

Derision

On a lonely, quiet, moonlit night,

I grabbed my shoes, and stumbled outside

Just for a glance at the twinkling stars

And their tiny eyes, watching me from afar

Twinkling with derision, mocking my hope,

For I’ve seen so much no one knows how I cope

Least of all the stars, who judge me for my fear

Of the ill-lit days I knew yesteryear

But I love the stars, though they might not love me,

They twinkle and dance in their black velvet sea

They live with abandon, like I never can,

They’re free, without fear of beast or man

The stars are forever, and never give in

To Death’s fatal touch, a fight I cannot win

Do they mock my mortality? There’s no way to know

But they are a constant, and that gives me hope

–

So when I am battered and bruised and dismayed

I think of the stars I saw yesterday

I think of their lights, twinkling in the sky

And I think of the past, and it makes me cry

The future’s forever, but what’s gone is gone

Just like my mistakes, all the things I did wrong

And the stars might judge, but that is their right

Not all of us live in a diamond of light

And so let me grieve, let me bask in my pity

The stars will watch on, from their own celestial city

All of the Stars

And in darkness I stand, looking up in the sky,

Thousands of twinkling, diamond-set eyes

They’re watching me idly, like they always do

Cut-outs cut out of a velveteen blue

But today is different, in a way they don’t know

The stars never change, but each day I grow

And once I was bitter, so caught up in rage,

That I blamed the whole world in a giant tirade

I thought I was too big for its pain and its lies

A soap opera watched by those twinkling eyes!

But then something happened inside me, one day

(though those twinkling eyes still looked the same)

And I learnt that nothing in the world is so plain

As all good or all bad, all love or all pain

You have to lose some to win some, fall down to rise,

You have to tilt your head back to look up at the sky!

And that’s how I learnt the most important lesson of all:

To put things behind you, you have to stand tall

If I didn’t touch it, then it wouldn’t bite

So let go of anger, and seek the path to the light

It’s amazing how one step can push you so far

When you’re dancing in the moonlight, under all of the stars

Twinkling Star’s Breath

I know that I’ll never know

How it comes, or where you go

But you disappeared in a twinkling star’s breath

And, when I awoke, I was the only one left

And somehow I know that you’re better off now

Though starlight’s too weak to let me see how

I imagine at nights that you’re safe and sound

And that helps me sleep, since you’re not around

And I know that I’m foolish, for believing such tales

As heaven and spirits. Life is too frail

For individuals to matter, that I now know,

But I still can’t understand why you had to go

And disappear one night, in a twinkling star’s light

Slipping away without so much as a fight

Leaving me here without ever knowing why

What happened to forever?

you didn’t even say good-bye

Star

Your love is like a distant star

Too far for me to see

It shines too brightly to behold

(at least, apparently)

I wish upon it every night

As I kneel beside my bed

And let the image linger on

In dream-worlds in my head

I know it’s there while sunlight shines

Although I’m blind by day

And I see it shining in the night

Long after it’s burnt away

From the Edge

I talk myself down from the edge, sometimes

And comfort myself with sing-song rhymes

I feel all the pain they’ve stuffed in my heart

I see all their faces , and it rips me apart

But somehow I’m here, though why, I can’t see

When all of the rest have abandoned me

I look at the stars so far out of reach

They’re gentle and wise. They’ve so much to teach.

And sometimes, at night, when I can’t see through the dark

They twinkle to remind me I, too, am a star

And I leave the edge safely, at least for a while

Because the stars keep me sane, and remind me to smile

stardust

the sky is filled with millions of stars

catch one! catch one! don’t let them get far

stardust is pure luck, so hold it near your heart

and maybe you’ll think of me, when we’re apart

you know, i see the same stars that you do at nights

starlight is so bright, it burns through my eyes

and, just like a star, i couldn’t hold you for long

so i’ll set you back in the sky, where you belong

Starlight

It was the night that I lay dying

The people around me all were crying

But they were strangers I didn’t know

I was safe in my bed, but I had to go

Every breath that I took burnt deep inside

Every heartbeat felt electrified

I could feel my bones shaking the frame of the bed

The sound would only stop when I was dead

–

In the window I saw them, there in the sky

The twinkles of starlight. They made me cry.

How could they mock me with such reckless glee

They’d live forever, much longer than me!

They didn’t know anything of my painful end

They waltzed in the heavens among all of their friends

I fixated on one, but, as soon as I did

I saw it twinkle out. It, too, was dead.