Shards of Stars

the story of before

DECEMBER 31st, 2015
the story of before

[alternatively titled "rockets, masks and cigars"]

☆

in the beginning, there's nothing at all
lifeless pits of lava with a swirling black wall,
between beautiful life and it's planned downfall
a merciless rock round a fiery red ball

eventually something raises it's hand
the human race's worst demand
is it a god or a beast or a science of sand?
questions linger over fingers writing rules for the land

the hand is raised
the beginning is praised
forests grow in a gigantic, lush jungle maze
the animals thrive on their will to survive
the thrumming certainty sticks to their lives

then the humans they come
from a lush godly place?
or an ape's clenching thumb?
or a dreadful mistake?

no-one quite knows,
but the story it goes
that a fight is our
right
and it fixes our woes

though the thing we must care
is the humans are there
in a flurry of worry and knotted-up hair

overtime they grow thoughts
like a plum on a tree
but these dangerous thoughts
are like honey to bees

the rock hosts an earth, filled with oceans and seas,
its vast wild frontiers a gateway to the trees
a nature behold, to be brought to it's knees
screaming old empty promises echoed by pleas

humans place leaf to ash
crown their new belief king
they can trade their lush trees for ideas with wings
sell their lives to the wall for a notion that rings
if they're going to die they should stand for something

and the more that they harvest their thoughts from the trees,
the harder once-rock takes a quick-growing fee
the paper, the thoughts, they love spinning lies
brewing torture and judgement and hurt battle cries

the paper, the thoughts, dream up new worlds for few
mapping lands, shaking hands, writing stories anew
the trees are split and shipped, two by two,
go on journeys away from the homes they once knew

the humans are changing, jewels on their wrists
soot black rims their eyes,
clenching paper in fists
wave problems away with a trivial kiss
meanwhile time flies on by, oh the things that they miss

they turn on each other, rivals between skins
spears through the stomach to see which group wins
write their thoughts on paper to send it in darts
slicing and cutting away at their hearts

you can't love that person, they scoldingly say, our ancient dust hand wouldn't want it that way
their backs twist and hunch like the victims they killed,
pecking holes in the souls of the pompous free-willed

the trees and the lives burn out faster than fast
till caves and charred hair are mere things of the past
they soar to the textbooks, on paper of course
the humans just kiss them yet feel no remorse

the thoughts, the notions, the papers stack high
till footprints mark moons and scrapers touch the sky
animals bow down, furs matted with trash
their fates had been sealed the day leaf placed to ash

a swirling black wall builds itself shred by shred,
on the skeleton valleys and guns aimed at heads
the whole rock's mentality hangs by a thread,
a gravestone waits ready, they're on their deathbed

the humans send whines to the hand they once praised,
craft rockets and masks and cigars in a craze
what they've overlooked is that they've been stranded,
on a tiny green speck, stripped-down, empty handed

if the rocket's our trip to the stars we once were
our unsteady savior, our beg to differ
the cosmos and galaxies spun in a whir,
then why should we gasp when death's grasp comes for Her?

if the masks are our filter, our clever disguise
the thoughts grown on trees scrawled on paper for lies
what makes life seem polished, a sacrificed prize
why should we live on while She meets Her demise?

if the cigar's our downfall, our smokiest sin,
the potion-like lotion that smothers our skin
the ashtrays of apples and slinky snake's grin
how can we know this is a war we will win?

but wait, cry the humans, faces wrinkled with gray
mother nature looks on, she has nothing to say
builds the wall till it sprawls over towns and cities,
pushes past frowns, plows through their pities

a shadow of smog chips away
at the world's long sense overdue stay
the rock is restless, longs for peace
the trees are gone to say the least
the lava flies across pompeii,
a darkness bleaches out the day
a sea of crimson thick as blood
spreads cross the rock in a gory flood
rusty bones tumble like weeds
their flesh feeds tiny creature's needs

and in the end it leads to stall
back to a merciless rock 'round a fiery red ball...

this is a story of a world turned to ash
it's empires and kingdoms mere things of the past
a world too shameful for a god's farewell
forgotten in a blip of untimely hell

eons later, in a far off place
humans are reborn in another race
they'll trade leaf for ash instead of worth
"and they will know nothing of a place once called earth."

☆
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↱ "Some 5 BILLION YEARS FROM NOW, after it's burned to crisp or even swallowed by the sun, there will be other worlds and stars and galaxies coming into being-
and they will know nothing of a place once called earth." ↲
- CARL SAGAN ✦

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hi, guys
here's your prelude poem, or "the story of before". hope you enjoyed!
after saying I have zero skill or time for rhyming, I was like, "well at least for the very first poem I should try it". This is the result [it took a bit longer to write than I care to admit]
happy new year's eve + thanks for reading!
- payton.
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