Fallen Star

What a year it was for him,
watching his favorite star fall out the sky.
It tumbled silently at first,
and seemed so graceful
that he rejoiced,
because something was happening,
something exciting, before his eyes,
a spectacle.
But he knew it wasn’t that simple,
from the times he had fallen.
And this star was so much higher up
than he had been.
He imagined
the life of the star.
How it was raised,
up to that point
where it shone
for billions of years,
and millions of miles.
How it must've toiled to rekindle its own explosions
when the supernovas seemed to burn so much brighter.
How it must've struggled
against the pull of other galaxies
to maintain its orbit,
to stay at that spot
where he had watched it
everyday for years.
What grief it must've felt
to have fallen
when previously,
so many eyes had fallen on it.
But he also knew
the star wouldn't mind
because he hadn't lost sight.
And when he climbed the roof that night
and had to squint maybe a little harder
than he had before,
his eyes twinkled again
when they found his favorite star.

Digging

         Searching in the ground for something buried long ago. Where to begin? How deep do I go? Keep hearing in my head, “The X marks the spot, The X marks the spot.” As if there could be some treasure. So much gravel in the way of sweet soil, it’s hard to get through. I just want to dig… 

         Just want the ground to give. When I dig. When I live. I find solace in the repetition. In the sedimentary depositions. What is my position on the friction of my mission? Well, the gravel sucks and the soil rocks, so much coal for Christmas socks. No crystals here, no emeralds neither. Not even a flash, of an ephemeral pleaser. Alone in my hole, the digger’s den. Far from the worries of women and men. The deeper I go, the closer to China. They should give me a hardhat and call me a miner…

        But I’m not going back up, not in a million years. Not until I’m dead and fossilized. Not until they have to go through a thousand layers just to excavate me. Not until they have to cut through all the gravel I did to get here. Just to find me. And wonder what I once was.