Letters from the Stars
Dear brother
look up and I can see
tens of thousands of stars
filling up the sky
dying embers of bright balls of fire
my fingers tracing over each one
dots hanging on invisible threads
dangerously beautiful
home is when I look up and see the stars
comfort when i am lost on the streets
protection when the mobs rush
friend when you’re not here
family when everyone else is gone
stars will tell time
stars will tell when you come back to me
back home from this war
when I think of you I think of stars
how we used to look up at the night sky
when we were little
when the sun comes up
the stars fade
but never truly disappear
when you fight think of the stars
watching over you
come back home soon, brother
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Dear little sister
the stars are bright tonight
every twinkling jem in the sky
has a purpose, a destiny
like you and me
little reflections planet earth
round and complete in its making
but with flaws and many disasters
like this one
listen to the stars
because they see the things we don’t
stars tell the stories of all the soldiers
who were more heroic than reporters
can every make them seem
because no newspaper
can or will ever be able to describe what it's like
up at the front because they haven’t faced
the bodies flying
like fallen angels the world over
or the smell of gunpowder
that burn your lungs when you breathe
and the last words of so many
that never got the chance to say goodbye
but the stars can
for that reason i will come back to you
and tell you of these legends
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Claire Y Hong (2019)