For Enbin...

The Warmth of a Star

I stood in the cold outside
Last night
In a thick sweatshirt,
Shivering for all I was worth,
Nonetheless.

The cold scared me.
I shivered from within.

Meteor showers,
The papers screamed.
The world was anxiously awaiting.
This was the night.
Thirty-three years, they said!
How could I give it a miss?

As I looked up through layers
Of smoke and dust,
I wondered what I was doing there
All alone.

Family had better things to do,
And friends, if existent,
Were miles away,
Together.
So I stood alone,
A shooting star
Travelling the lonely road.

Daydreaming in the still of night,
I felt my back slide down the wall
As I put my arms round my knees
And cried.

Yes, it was cold.

I heard the insects in
The trees by the road,
The dogs down the street,
The security guards who were
Keeping each other awake.

They had each other.
I had me.

And I hugged myself, shaking.

Then gasps of amazement
Came from across the road,
I opened my eyes
And thought I saw,
Through blurred vision,
A fleeting fiery streak across the sky.

That must have been me.

I'd never seen a shooting star before.
People said you could wish on them.
So I did.
I shut my eyes and thought
Of what I wanted
More than anything else
In the world,
And whispered something
With bated breath.

Then I looked up again
And saw two bright stars
Journey to Earth together,
As friends do.

And while a shooting star
Will probably sail alone
In his quest,
Somewhere, there is one like him.
And though short,
Their relationship is precious.
Together, they will stun the world.

Then I remembered,
That somewhere under
The same night sky,
You were watching too.

I don't know who
The first star was meant to be,
But the pair -- that was us.

It was a chilly night,
But from within, I felt
An eternal flame.
You had helped me
Overcome the cold.

So though smog clouded my vision,
I saw now, that the stars
Shone brighter
Than ever before.