The Starwhale

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