Requiem For The Fading Stars

 

Requiem For The Fading Stars

 

I weep for the stars that I can’t see.

That in my youth were so amazing to me.

I look to the heavens and the faded sky;

A sad remnant of days gone by,

When my brother and I would lie in the grass,

And watch shooting stars, and the zodiac pass.

The constellations were so clear and bright,

That swirled overhead throughout the night.

We knew them all and called their names,

And point them out in our own little games.

To see who could spot them and see the most

Starry figures in the brilliant hosts

Of stars, and the band of the Milky Way

As we dreamed of star ships to carry us away.

 

Oh, the stars of our long-lost youth!

I can’t see you now, it’s a painful truth

That lost to the night is Orion’s bow,

And the little dipper barely shows.

All drowned out by bright city lights

And streetlamps everywhere to banish the night

I look up now, and it pains my heart,

As I clearly see that we’re losing the stars.

The stars that helped our dreams to soar;

To reach for the heavens and strive for more

Than a life of sustenance by sweat and clod,

To dream of becoming more like God.

It was the stars that taught our hearts to dream

But now we don’t need them or care, it seems

Now we live every day and night,

Bathed in the glow of artificial light.

As the stars fade away and men’s’ dreams grow small

And we soon will forget that men once stood tall.

We grow smaller when we don’t stretch our mind.

I fear we’ll be lost to the mists of time.

Maybe when the lights all fade,

We’ll see them again and find our way.

 

We need the stars. We need the night.

We need to reach for those points of light.

We need the shadows, dark and deep

And those heavens above, our dreams to keep,

From fading away like the stars we’ve lost

Because we love convenience, no matter the cost.

 

I stand outside alone at night,

To soak in the darkness, so cool and quiet.

But I weep for the stars that I can’t see.

And the sense of wonder that’s been stolen from me.

 

© James L. Frady April 4, 2019.