The stars
Oh, the stars
They’re like diamonds
Glittering in an obsidian carpet
Each has their own tale
Gazing down on us
Pulsing and glimmering
Waiting to be noticed
They have color
If you stare hard enough
They have faces
And voices
Songs
They sing songs to those who listen
And stories
They tell stories to those who believe
But behind the dazzling light
Is pain behind belief
Tears streaming
Blood trickling
Body aching
And a squeezing pressure
Stronger than Jupiter’s gravity
Pressing in
For eternity
So the next time you look up at the sky
And examine the stars
Remember
The prettiest beings hurt the most
They beautiful ones are the most exhausted
But they are the strongest
They are unbreakable
And they never show their true self
But even stars have their limits
When their shells can no longer hold their souls
They explode
Into a rainbow of color
Their secrets splayed and splattered
For the universe to read
Their life is now a rainbow
A sea of paint
Floating in the sky
Pieces of their inner self
Open
Exposed
But still hiding
Strands of smoke and fog
Struggle to grasp at memories and stories
Long gone
By the time we see them
The tendrils have given up
It’s over
It’s all over
No one will ever
See the beauty
Again…
…
…
...
Except…
No.
Not quite.
It’s not over yet
A glitter
A sparkle
And…
Wait for it…
…
…
…
B
A
N
G
.
There it is
A new star
It consumes the prime parts of the nebula
Pulling in all the golden strands
All the diamond shards
And forming
A new soul
It glitters in the sky
Where its predecessor was
The nebula wraps it in a loving embrace
For the briefest of moments
The souls of the stars meet
They communicate
Sing songs
Tell stories
Dance in the cosmos
It’s peaceful
The sky glows yellow with joy
And then it’s gone
The strands have turned to dust
The gold has turned to rust
All remaining memory of the previous star
Blows away in the wind
The young star is left all alone
In the middle of the black ocean
Gazing down from the cosmos
Over the years
It builds up its defenses
Captures secrets that float past
Grabs diamonds to add to its shell
It becomes beautiful
It becomes envied
It becomes cherished
It becomes…
Happy?
No.
It is anything but
Droplets roll down its surface
Some clear
Some red
None of them beautiful
Its heart aches and burns
Its soul tears itself apart
It longs for the bliss of nothingness
Its losing hope
“Someone”
“Anyone!”
“Help!”
“Help!!”
“Help…”
And then…
W
O
O
S
H
There!
In the distance…
Far away…
Squint your eyes
Focus your glow
It’s the dead star!
A ghostly figure appears
It’s shape is undefined
It doesn’t glow
In fact, it emits a heavy blackness
It is darker than the carpet surrounding the star
“Little star…”
“Don’t make the same mistakes I did…”
“Let your soul escape…”
“Let it out.”
“Let.”
“It.”
“Out.”
The star listens
It closes its eyes
It feels its carefully built shell fall apart
The pieces float away
To be collected by another star
It loses its shine
The golden aura around it fades
It is nothing but shadows
The star cries
“Why?”
“Why…?…”
The ghost of the star smiles
“Because…”
It moves closer
Circling the young star
Until…
S
H
I
N
G
.
They merge
The universe rumbles in protest
As everything is sucked up
Consumed by the combined grief of the stars
Their agony and rage
Scream and cry
All that they have every known is destroyed
Devoured by their suffering
Soon, it is all gone
And the stars
Oh, the stars
They’re gone
What remains
Is eternal darkness
The star is happy
It has destroyed everything
It is full and content
It turns to see the ghost star
But it is gone
There is nothingness
The star realizes the truth
In its glorious joy
It destroyed its predecessor
Once again
Tears and blood
Roll down its surface
It feels the pain of its youth
It urges to find jewels to cover up its pain
No one can see
No one can know
No
One
…
S
H
O
O
M
.
The star decreases in size
As everything it has consumed
Flies out
It has learned its lesson
Content and joy
Only come at a high price
And the price is too great
For the star to pay
It is unwilling to try anymore
All flickers of promised joy
Fade
Along with the ghost of the star
The star returns to its previous life
Except
It gives up on being pretty
What’s the point when one day
It’s going to explode
And form a nebula?
The star passes
Every shard
Every piece
Every thread
Of beauty
To the other stars
It grows as more stars present it with gifts of gratitude
It smiles more
And finds joy
Suddenly
The star feels a tugging sensation
It shouts for all the other stars to run
Run.
Run!
B
O
O
M
.
And just like that
It dies
In its final moments
The star smiles
“What will the next star be like?”
“Will I be remembered?”
…
…
…
“I understand…”
“I understand it now…”
“I understand the meaning of life.”
And then
It’s gone.
About the Creator
Mira Liu
Hi! I'm a 15-year-old author, poet, and songwriter. I have published 3 books(available on Amazon), won 3 gold and 4 silver keys in the Scholastic Writing Competition, and you can find my music on all streaming platforms at NYXNYT.
Rachel Reviews: The Spiral Archive by Pieter Hendrik
It's difficult for me to know where to start with a review of this book as it was, for me, an entirely unique experience and one that I'll probably never have again. I don't want that to be interpreted as unenjoyable but it has left me scratching my head a little and ruminating on its content, its themes and its characters.
By Rachel Deeming4 days ago in BookClub
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