David Kavanagh Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

For Ink Empress contest
(I follow faded stars ) prompt
04/11/2026

I follow faded stars

Hell itself cannot burn any brighter
No faster than stars fuel the sky
I follow them all in search of heaven
But it’s us on Earth feeding that fire

They all fade slowly from existence
Spreading out right under my eyes
Not because they obey a command
In truth, there’s so much space to hide

I watch distance stretching on forever
As human intelligence restricts my mind
Nothing stays in the place it begins
Perceived certainty, or just plain lies

And I’ve many grave misgivings
about rockstars that chose to die
Did they tap into a secret chord
to find it was always background noise

Oh, I curse this whole damn cosmos
for creating such an impenetrable void
It knows nothing of fixed boundaries
Only how to dim despite all our sighs

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Karen Jones April 17, 2026 at 10:02 AM Congratulations on your top win David! David Kavanagh April 17, 2026 at 12:11 PM Heya Karen, I’m absolutely delighted to get a great placement in Ink’s contest! Cheers David

Ink Empress April 17, 2026 at 7:29 AM Dear David, The opening line here really blew me away. Not something i often read here on soup, from what i read, it really is so deep, and can be interpreted in so many ways! Theres so much depth in what youv delivered! In such an introspective manner, how thought provoking, one that made me pause and think deep on all that which exists and the history of so many tales, “ Perceived certainty, or just plain lies” that line will stay with me for so long! This is just impeccable! Soul hitting! So glad you were inspired, should have known when judging this could be you! Impressive take! Thank you for sharing! Congratulations! Sending you light always David Kavanagh April 17, 2026 at 8:53 AM Thanks so much Ink, I’m delighted and uplifted you rated my poem so well in your contest, you picked out my favourite line too, I think (perceived certainly or just plain lies) says so much about how I view our place in the cosmos, you have analysed my poem with great detail, which I know cannot be easy when multilayered, I believe we really do have an unfathomable spiritual relationship with the stars, that goes way beyond our physical presence here on Earth, thanks again for sharing the good news and of course the light is always welcome, cheers David

Laurentine G April 11, 2026 at 2:33 PM It makes you wonder why we persist in wondering - I'm not sure I've heard of any stories of it leading to happiness. Could it be articulated even if some revelation were found? Makes me think there's no human words for it and our senses aren't on the right frequencies - so we just have a feeling and linger until it dissipates. Good luck in the contest. David Kavanagh April 11, 2026 at 3:14 PM I understand LG, but here’s the thing I’m quite content following those faded stars, even though it doesn’t bring me absolute happiness, I do get a good buzz feeling, until it doesn’t feel good anymore, then I try a different angle of approach :) you make a very valid point of whether a revelation if found could be articulated, many cosmologists believe their theories are sound but they never seem to stand up to scrutiny, maybe Einstein did figure everything out and thought those clowns will never buy into this lol, cheers David

Lin Lane April 11, 2026 at 9:51 AM As humans, we’re all restricted from the truth of many things, not only in the cosmos but also things on earth that make no sense. Is there no recompense to our wonder? Therein lies the dimness of our knowledge. Just like stars, we live, fade then perish. Another thought provoking write from your wandering mind, David. David Kavanagh April 11, 2026 at 11:27 AM Heya Lin, I understand the rationale behind most things on Earth, but some things/people beggar belief, a microcosm of the cosmos perhaps, Einstein once said (the only incomprehensible thing about the cosmos is that it is comprehensible), he never fully explained that though lol! Yes I have a wandering mind, I guess all poets do, maybe one of us will figure it out someday, just not today:) cheers David

Tom Cunningham April 11, 2026 at 7:03 AM I'm not sure we'll ever find out David, you're right though human intelligence is limited for sure and we just end up going around in circles. Best of luck in the contest and enjoy your weekend. Tom David Kavanagh April 11, 2026 at 8:20 AM We really are limited when it comes to human intelligence Tom, which probably means that infinity has been built into the cosmic equation, but one thing we can be sure of, there is something rather than nothing, even if it appears to fade over time, have a great weekend too! Cheers David