Stardust Poem by BASAB CHAUDHURI

Last night I dreamed
my shining dreams
shattered into dust—

nanoparticles,
silica, alumina, oxides,
fine as breath.

They covered me,
filled me—
a living mine
of rare metals and light.

Satellites found me.
Presidents circled.
Prime ministers reached.
Lithium in my veins,
ruthenium and tantalum in my bones.

Jets waited.
Drones guarded.
The world beamed.

I was terribly important—
glittering, complex,
all dust.

Then I knew:
my dreams were not trustworthy.
Dust was.

I wished to remain stardust.

I woke.

And wept.