“Reach for the stars,” they said.

So, conforming obediently, I looked at the sky

And was instantly filled with wonder.

 

Massive quantities of energy

Dwarfed by ignorance and disinterest,

Reflected tinges of hope in my eyes,

A nondescript abyss of awe and fascination;

Spawns for the deepest interest

Revolved in my mind,

Each new terrene sparking the smallest flame-

Birthing a new star.

 

However, within such a wondrous place

Are nightmares-

Threatening vortexes, swirling with the promise

Of eternal wisdom;

Determined shards of stone, set with the

Brightest future and the foulest fate;

The collision of all that is good with

All of that contained unimaginable malevolence.

 

Ferocious flames.

Defiant destruction.

Sudden darkness.

 

I look up to the sky now,

Full of fearful desire.

I look up and see

Peeling,

Falsely advertised,

Glow-in-the-dark

Fragments of previous wonder

Resting upon the backdrop of my ceiling.

 

Falling in defeat,

A crumpled piece of plastic lands at my clad toes:

A reminder that not all is attainable

And that not all is as it seems.

 

“Reach for the stars,” they said.

Now the stars are reaching out to me,

Their once spectacular light fading in the throes of cessation.