I met a star.
At least, I think she was a star.
You know, the interesting thing about stars is you always forget that they burn.
You never think about how much it would hurt
To touch a star.
You see them shining in the night sky, piercing through the darkness
And you think about how cool it would be to touch one of them.
But then you remember how far away they are.
I think they’re far away for a reason.
I thought it was because they burn.
You see, I touched a star.
At least, I think I did.
She burned to the touch.
She felt the burning, too.
Have you ever thought about that?
If stars are in pain? Burning forever as decorations?
I know they are.
At least this one was.
My star burned and burned, and she lit every day
And at night, she kept the darkness away
But she wasn’t happy.
She was alone.
I thought no one should be alone,
So I found the highest mountain I could.
I climbed and I climbed, and I climbed,
And when I was finally high enough,
There she was, like a sun.
I held my star.
And it burned,
And it was magical.
And it hurt,
And it was wonderful.
And my skin charred,
And my mouth turned up in a smile.
And then the star stepped back.
I stood there ablaze, with only my tears to put out the flames. 
And she shot to the highest peak of the highest mountain.
So I followed.
I climbed, and I climbed, and I climbed
Until I got to the very top of the highest peak of the highest mountain.
And I reached out, and she flew
Flew away again. 
Flew up above the clouds, 
And all I could see was a faint light shining behind them. 
So I jumped. 
Jumped to the nearest cloud, 
And the next, and the next, and the next,
And I climbed the sky.
When I was finally atop the clouds,
When I was above everything I had ever known,
When I was running low on air,
When I was grasping, again, so desperately for my star,
She just shook her head,
And the clouds beneath me burned.
And I fell.
You see, I touched a star.
And it hurt.
Not the burns,
But the fall.

About the Author:

Jake Page is an aspiring artist and a psychology major based in the Western United States. He has performed his poetry a few times in public but is excited to publish one for the first time.

*Feature image by The New York Public Library on Unsplash