Starlight Poem by Beatrice Preti

It was the night that I lay dying
The people around me all were crying
But they were strangers I didn't know
I was safe in my bed, but I had to go
Every breath I took burnt deep inside
Every heartbeat felt electrified
I could feel my bones shaking the frame of the bed
The sound would stop only when I was dead
-
In the window I saw them, there in the sky
They were twinkles of starlight. They made me cry.
How could they mock me with such reckless glee?
They'd live forever, much longer than me!
They didn't know anything of my painful end
They waltzed in the heavens among all of their friends
I fixated on one, but, as soon as I did
I saw it twinkle out. It, too, was dead.