---

 

This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book “Spartacus” Down in the Dirt, v178 (the December 2020 Issue) Order the paperback book:

Order this writing that appears in the one-of-a-kind anthology Late Frost the Down in the Dirt Sept.-Dec. 2020 issues collection book		get the 420 page Sept.-Dec. 2020 Down in the Dirt 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:

Twinkle, Little Star, Until You Fade Out

Grace Nask

Astronomers tell you that
The North Star is the brightest of all stars,
Shining fiercely. What they don’t say is that the North Star will
Die
323 years before humans will watch it flicker out.

We started--like all things start--as a nebula.
A floating pile of atoms that can’t amount to much.
Until, that is, the first tendrils of
Gravity
Took hold of us, and the casual
“Hey” here and the
“What’s up?” there created bonds.

We both became massive stars in our own rights
And carried a large amount of
Friendly gravity. We formed a new binary star system,
Each star revolving around the other. Each with
The same mass,
The same distance apart,
The same gravity. It couldn’t last.

You must have grown into a red supergiant when
I wasn’t looking, for suddenly your gravity grew
Stronger. Soon it was not us
Orbiting each other. You became
My Sun,
Pulling me in with feelings I’d only felt once before.
And never with this intensity.

I wanted to draw closer, but I
Tried to fight it. You never
Saw me coming. I
Never
Wanted
To
Hurt.
But that’s how these things go.

With a gravity I could hardly recognize I
Drew closer. And you jerked back.
Soon, suddenly, our gravity fell slack and
Died. Later our separate inertias
Carried us away.

I burst into a red supergiant soon after.
Fierce, unrelenting, yet Dying.
Space and time
Could not console me.

And that is where my story seems
To end.

So what will happen to me now? I cannot say. I know my
Failing gases will burst into a supernova.
And then--what then? Will I become
A black hole, destroying everything in my path?
I think I’d much rather be a
Neutron star, alone in the sky
But at peace.

And what, my Sun, happened to you?
Most likely a red supergiant
Forever, with hundreds of moons
Encircling you until you forget you’d
Ever been the burning Light
Of a binary system.

So twinkle, my--for a momentary eternity, my--
Little Star, until you fade out. You were my
North Star, the brightest Star in my galaxy.
But I guess now I’ll have to find my own way back
Home.

Copyright of written pieces remain with the author, who has allowed it to be shown through Scars Publications and Design.Web site © Scars Publications and Design. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.

Problems with this page? Then deal with it...