I Was Born a Blazing Star
A poem of beauty, identity, and defiance against anyone who might try and extinguish my flame.
I was born a blazing star My parents cradled me in tongs Dunked me in water And hissing, I became Charred and crystalline A spark of light Trembling in defiance The core of an onyx Only at certain angles On certain days At certain times Would I glow for you I danced in secret Crusted over as I was They never knew their decimation Was not complete Yet, they must have suspected Some stubbornness Some electricity Some life on a barren planet Clinging to a little warmth For they brought their hammer down Battering, shattering, clattering My onyx shell to pieces My candle flame ignited From pinprick to bonfire Oh how alive I became Yet somehow they had trained me To suffocate with a snap With a click, with a crack I put myself out Leaving a coal speck Shivering under their spell They left me Somehow content With me withering A black smudge on the floor Is this the end? I asked Is this all I am? I whispered This is what they made me, I said But where had it all begun? I murmured Who had I been? I cried. Before Before Before them? I screamed Embers stirred Firefly flecks Spiraling upwards In unseen heat Soaring skyward A little smudge tried To ignite To fly To deny What they had made me The darkness I had become Cloyed my soul Muddy fingers clawing Scratching everything away Taking my words Scrambling them Violating them You will be what they made you. Obey OBEY OBEY The embers stilled Pinpricking the air A microcosm Of a midnight sky Seeming to say goodbye It whispered A secret Leaving me frozen Shattered and alone Yet hair rose on my parents necks Running they came Brandishing their forked tongues I listened. I cowered. I cried And yet in that moment I knew who I was A blotch of shadow Weak, curling inward Protecting. Always Protecting A chemical equation The catalyst A secret You can never douse a star Not with a bucket Not with a pond Not with a sea Or an ocean planet You can scream at it Rage at it Tell it that it will never ever be good enough Yet you can’t Actually Stop it A shockwave cracked the walls Heat rose like a flash-flooding flame of a forest fire They screamed, oh how they screamed I listened. I heard. It hurt Yet I raged I burned and I blazed But more than that. I glowed. I glimmered. I shimmered Shivering in my splendor They ran. Not because of violence Not because of defiance But rather they couldn’t bear to see The beauty they had tried to take from me
Photo by Aleksa Kalajdzic
Hello everyone! If you enjoyed this poem consider reading Becoming Human. My other poems can be found here: Poetry Collection.
If you are interested in short stories take a look at my Short Story Collection. I recommend The Abyss if you enjoyed this poem.
I also have some blogs where I talk about writing and mental health. If you are curious you can check them out here, and I highly recommend this piece: Eternal Flame
If you want a longer read, consider checking out my Novella: The Mark of Death
And as always, I want to let you know how appreciative of the time you spend to read my work. I hope something about it resonated with you.
The Abyss
I lay on the membrane watching the pinprick of light flicker in and out. The glow didn’t have a long life ahead of it, and it was my fault. Sometimes I reach towards it as my fingers mime capturing it. That was the extent I would try. The rest of the time I lay on the sticky ground waiting for it to collapse and send me deeper into the abyss.
Becoming Human
Have you heard of the little girl down the road? Aquamarine and sparkling like stars. As she walks, rocks crack against her body. At once she feels and does not. The little girl once asked me a question. Can I become human? I laughed at her. Laughed.
