As the stars align
we say goodbye.
They call for you,
beckoning with each pointed limb.
You begin to rise—
swinging sweetly,
leaping from cloud to cloud,
tiptoeing childishly across each wisp.
Finally you reach the illuminated star
bellowing out your name.
You greet the twinkling friend with a smirk
steeped with knowledge and youth
rarely seen by these ancient stars.
With both hands grappling at the edges,
you hoist yourself up
through the lighted threshold,
fighting against those below
trying to force you back.
Once you break through
you turn back and face the ground.
Light begins to trickle outward,
drifting slowly to kiss each face down below.
As the earth-bound souls peer to the heavens
they see an oil-filled ocean
and one star,
illuminating the waters all by itself.