boom
there are stars in her eyes
and stars in her dreams.
when she looks up,
she matches gazes with God
and challenges him
to give her something to reach for.
if the sky is the limit,
there is no sky.
and there is no god,
she thinks,
but only when convenient.
huddled up in blankets
and hospital gowns,
her lips are wet with prayer.
we burn the night for her,
fill the sky with shrieking streamers,
ribbons of color exploding
into silence.
i tell her stories and kiss her to sleep
as she swears five times
that she’ll be there next time.
she tastes like starbursts-
not the tangy, not the sweet,
but the scream
of dying suns and the ripples
that stretch forever
and a day.
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