Chasing Stardust
"It's the stardust that gets you," the girl said to me,
"With promises of wishes you desire to be,
Granted , fulfilled, miraculously,
Utter rubbish," she snorted, "Well at least, to me."
But they are stars, I protested, argued and cajoled.
They are God's creatures, creatures so old.
Their stories are ancient, all over are told,
Of stars and us mortals, if I can be so bold.
To speak of Ahmin and his wish to a star,
To whisk him to adventure, to lands so far.
Or the star that helped Sophie bring up a tree,
Whose pears now sell often, to nobility.
And of the gaze of a star that lit up the night,
And fell on the king, restoring his sight.
What of the star, to which the young prince pleaded,
His wish for a lover, clearly succeeded.
"Lies all! A pack! Mere stories and rhymes,"
The girl cried out as if against foul crimes.
"They promise so much, but they never deliver.
A speck, a grain, not even a sliver.
They will make you beg, will make you sing songs,
But they live so up high, and they've lived for so long
Immortals all, they have always been there.
Do you still believe that these creatures do care?
These lifeless ghosts of cold fire and stone,
Who live in their multitudes, yet sing all alone.
They grin and they gossip, they whisper their lies.
All safe and snug, in those treacherous skies.
Their brilliant glow, so pretty to see,
Twinkling eyes in a dark blue sea.
You make your wishes, you seek their aid.
They will betray you, like I was betrayed.
I prayed to them once, to these stars of yours.
I was fervant and loyal and fierce to the cause.
I needed their help and I had a desire.
The smallest of wishes for these balls of fire.
Days turned to months, and months then to years.
I sang with words, then prayers, then screams and tears.
I implored and begged, I seethed and I raved,
Nights were spent dreaming of dreams that I craved.
These Gods heard my call but did not reply.
Why should they? When they are snug in the sky.
They glowed even brighter, twinkled all the more,
But they stayed silent, mocking, and all.
Five years had gone, and I stopped in the end.
Despair my companion, sorrow my friend.
No more did I wish, my heart was all stone.
And I left these hard masters to their sky, well alone."
She fell silent then, her voice left in the air.
A tale of the world that had refused to care.
It must have been hard, I said, a sob in my words,
To not have her wish granted, not even heard.
But I still believe, that the stars can work good,
And aid us poor mortals, as all stars should.
And though this be painful, like the peeling of scars,
Might I ask the wish, u asked from the stars?
She looked at me then, green eyes full of sorrow,
She was delicate, beautiful, I just had to follow
Her gaze when she glanced up, up to the sky,
To those masters who refused to answer why.
Then she touched her hair gently, auburn and soft,
A smile crossed her lips, it held her aloft.
I stood entranced and waited, for her story to end,
Before she finally spoke words, for me to understand.
"Of the times long ago, of the years that are gone.
Of a house and a home and the future I mourn.
Of the sun on my face, in my own secret place.
Where the songs still had meaning and men did not chase.
You ask me a question, of fools and of lies,
To an answer you know, this slave in your eyes!
You who did catch me and torment with glee!
I will have my wish granted! I will be free!"
With a flick of a wrist, and the glint of bright silver,
A flash and then pain, pain she delivered.
I felt my blood leave me, I bent over to die,
I collapsed to the ground, my face to the sky.
Then weakness came running, my vision grew dim,
And when her face reappeared, it was as a dream.
Darkness came then, and light seemed so far,
And I closed my eyes, and wished for a star...
*fin*
