Constellations

One by one,

we took the stars from the sky

to put on planes,

on cities, and

carvings on concrete.

One by one,

the stars in the sky stopped shining;

their names, forgotten and

their stories, ancient history.

One by one

they became

lore and legend,

and eventually, just lies.

The stars,

one by one

by one by one,

were robbed their promise

to govern the night sky.

One by one,

we took the stars from the sky.

But one by one,

—when the world goes dark,

the night the noise is silenced,

and the lights burn out—

the stars will return to take back

the names given to them;

the power to turn tides,

to change seasons

and to rule the night.

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