Lately my mind
Has been in the stars
Traveling throughout all of space and time
Trying to grasp just how far
The stars are
From this little Earth
Trying to understand that even stars
Have a death and a birth . . .
And in order to understand
The distance to the dying star from here
I must understand the light-year
And how fast light travels
But I barely even grasp miles
I can't really understand the fact that the great wall of China is 13,000 miles long
My brain starts to vibrate
And rejects the concept
As if my mind isn't big enough for it
13,000 miles long??
Millions of lightyears away??
The speed of light??
Sit tight, young man
You can't really understand
How big this existence is
That you've been thrown into
As you ride along on top of the Starwhale
Experiencing all of human time
In the blink of an eye
A soul in a saddle
As the shooting star streaks across the sky
So does the neuron across your brain
But you spend your nights in your living room getting high?
Welcoming the dying of the light?
Not even trying to put up a fight?
Become the light, young man
Take your stand
If not for yourself
Then for everyone else
Let your light be felt
Before the star starts to melt
Even when the sun is gone
She'll still send you seven minutes of warmth on your skin
So yes, your light keeps people warm even after you're done living
Yeah . . . Don't shine for yourself
Shine for everyone else
And everyone who comes after you're gone
CH 3/28/24