boom

there are stars in her eyes

and stars in her dreams.

when she looks up,

she matches gazes with God

and challenges him

to give her something to reach for.

if the sky is the limit,

there is no sky.

and there is no god,

she thinks,

but only when convenient.

huddled up in blankets

and hospital gowns,

her lips are wet with prayer.

we burn the night for her,

fill the sky with shrieking streamers,

ribbons of color exploding

into silence.

i tell her stories and kiss her to sleep

as she swears five times

that she’ll be there next time.

she tastes like starbursts-

not the tangy, not the sweet,

but the scream

of dying suns and the ripples

that stretch forever

and a day.