Painted Stars

He lived a life of painted joy, of drawn on laughter, of sketched out smiles. A vivid masterpiece of a great artist created throughout a lifetime. Bright yellows and brilliant greens splashed across the timeline. The painted stars on a navy sky we’re beautiful beyond compare, but they didn’t light the darkness that he always knew was there. He studied them closely night after night hoping for something more. Yet painted stars, are painted stars as they’ve always been before. The stars began to disappear and the painted joy was gone. Then the artist painted darkness and erased the sketched on smiles and the painted man was open to the darkened, ink black sky. The darkness stumbled out of him a mingled with the atmosphere. The painted man was left alone and empty in his anguish. From painted stars to scratched on scars the painted man was through. And the only thing left of the painted man, was what he meant to you.