Starry Starry Night - POTW
POTW
When Wishes were made on a shooting star
The Heavens looked down and smiled
With sprinkles of stardust on a whisper of moonbeams
They created for us a child
Soothed you were by twinkling stars
In a crib that faced a velvet sky
Did Queen Cassiopeia sing you a sweet lullaby
As she heard your cries from ever so high
In the years that followed you blossomed
Joy abounded at the Wondrous You
A rare jewel that we could hardly believe was ours
A beacon lighting a path so True
We named you Vincent - Our shooting Star
We felt with the artist you identified
a gifted creativity - an affinity with stars
Sharing a world of art personified
The ‘Via Lactea’ expanded into names defined
Elliptical galaxies pondered while star gazing
Sirius the Dog Star the brightest of all
Followed by Canopus and Arcturus - Amazing
Vega - Alpha Lyrae - the Soaring Eagle
You dragged us into your nightly game
Willing participants we soared with Him
Our mundane lives now never the same
Tents were pitched on ink black nights
Constellations on high seriously contemplated
Of Draconis, Capricornus, Gemini and Aries
The Heavenly hand that had so skilfully created
You captured the Milky Way in oils and canvas
In a fashion shared with artists of old
Your palette made up of hues and shades
With flaming strokes of colors so bold
And then it all Changed
Why did it all change? You drew within
Shutting us out despite our pleas
Your palette changed to blacks and greys
A boat rocking on emotional seas
We begged and pleaded - you shut the door
Leaving us baffled at what was wrong
Your light grew dimmer by the day
Our sorrow sang its own woeful song
And then on one starry starry night
The final flame - extinguished by you
Leaving utter devastation - bereft in its wake
Your parents’ hearts broken in two
Time heals all wounds so they say
Your farewell note being read and reread
Through tears of sadness, the hurt replaced
With acceptance and forgiveness instead.
And now as we sit years later on our porch
Staring at one star that sparkles so Bright
The words of Don McLean’s echoes in our minds
Of Vincent and his Starry Starry Night
‘For they could not love you
But still your love was true
And when no hope was left in sight
On that Starry Starry night
You took your life
Like sometimes lovers do
But I could have told you Vincent
This world was never meant
For one as beautiful as you’
Footnote:
Though fictitious, this is a story that truly represents teenage Cyber bullying suicides all over the world including Asia today. The innocent victims fear blackmail and repercussions refusing to talk it over with parents or mentors.
The parents are not even aware sometimes of the dark void of despair their child is facing and trying to address by themselves of which they have no experience and sometimes think the only way out is to end it all.
In this cyber age, these cowardly bullies hide behind anonymity, targeting their innocent victims, spreading and sharing lies and venom.
Hat’s off to my friend Kate Pennington of ‘Beyond a Joke’ Anti-Bullying Centre, in Sydney Australia, an amazing lady dedicated to helping the youth.
No real names of victims have been used in this piece of poetry and any resemblance is purely coincidental.
POTW 23rd April 2017
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