our unrealistic standards for stars

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Silvern
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Tue Mar 22, 2022 2:23 am
Silvern says... · Tue Mar 22, 2022 2:23 am
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the unspoken words - 2021

tonight, it's too late for dreams and too early for escape.
we might as well forget star charts and map our own flaws for a change.
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.

silver (she/her)
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Silvern
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Silvern
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Fri Apr 01, 2022 11:46 pm
Silvern says... · Fri Apr 01, 2022 11:46 pm
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i. how far we have left to fall


you light a match and the flame goes out:
that’s what you get for turning back halfway to the stars
and surrendering to fall into orbit instead.

we still somehow wake up to the smoke alarm
thinking that everything’s burned down again,
but it’s just the fire in my lungs living off my oxygen.
now i’m dreaming about spontaneous combustion
and indigo reflections in gasoline spills,
everything covered in dust— you and i stay up to watch
a sleeping world at the end of its life.
(if i hold my breath, it’ll go out, right? right?)

i light a match and the flame goes out:
that’s what i get for forgetting our rocket fuel
and powering through with denial instead.

we have so many universes to go.
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.

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Silvern
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Sat Apr 02, 2022 9:06 pm
Silvern says... · Sat Apr 02, 2022 9:06 pm
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ii. mistranslations of light


distance is the friend i stopped getting along with—
i got tired of its tendency to get in my way,
but it still makes plans for me sometimes.

the truth is, i won’t be ready when i see you,
finally unhazed by pixels and horizons.
i’ve already been trying to capture
the emission spectra that come my way
to get an idea of how you might shine.
but to my disappointment the light doesn’t fit in a firefly jar,
and although i try to imagine, it doesn’t match
how i think your eyes must really look.

i must not be seeing you clearly.
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.

silver (she/her)
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Silvern
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Sun Apr 03, 2022 11:11 pm
Silvern says... · Sun Apr 03, 2022 11:11 pm
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iii. clouds are the waves of the sky


it’s easier to imagine your constellations
than it is to follow them to find your way.
i know what it is to be so dissatisfied with the sky above
that i’ve started making my own from scratch,
tethering the points together into an anchor
with all the timelines i’ve once dreamed of,
and then dropping it down to earth at my feet.

we are creating new stars right here,
woven from the neon strands
from the nightlife below our window.

we hang them in the curtains
and then forget to look outside.

what do you call the driftwood of the cosmos?
maybe i was a comet all along.
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.

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Silvern
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Thu Apr 07, 2022 12:52 am
Silvern says... · Thu Apr 07, 2022 12:52 am
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iv. and we are both bad astronomers


your question goes like this:
"why do we even wish on stars?"

i don't think you understood
how much i loved it
when someone said the freckles on my face
looked like a smattering of constellations,
how in that moment i was a galaxy
stored in a web of neurons,
orbit paths twisting in the lines of my palms.

i don't think i could've explained to you
that i wanted to be a miracle,
a confession whispered at two am
to the cracked window blinds,
a promise that someone is looking for
through a telescope.

i don't think i knew yet
that i've always been more of a black hole,
the thing i was terrified of as a kid.

and so all i could tell you was,
"that is not how stars work."
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.

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Silvern
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Fri Apr 08, 2022 3:41 am
Silvern says... · Fri Apr 08, 2022 3:41 am
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v. moonlight addictions


you are so busy looking for the dark side of the moon
that you cursed the sun aloud for not illuminating us now,
that you never even looked at me when i was there.
in the same breath, you’ll wonder why it’s so elusive,
why you’re always on the hunt for what you can’t see,
all while i stand in your shadow and wish for an eclipse,
that i might finally be able to turn away from you
and you'll be blinded by seeing me for the first time as i go.

oh, you better look out, lone wolf.
what you’re searching for might be right behind you.
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.

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fatherfig
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Fri Apr 08, 2022 9:01 pm
fatherfig says... · Fri Apr 08, 2022 9:01 pm
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your poems always absorb my small attention span and i love it you have great descriptions <3
[insert inspirational quote here]
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Silvern
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Sat Apr 09, 2022 1:59 am
Silvern says... · Sat Apr 09, 2022 1:59 am
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ahhhhh thank you very much coffee!! <3
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.

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alliyah
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Sun Apr 10, 2022 2:48 am
alliyah says... · Sun Apr 10, 2022 2:48 am
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I'm in love with the whole concept for your thread, and the execution is so clean and polished, I could see you arranging these into a chapbook very easily - and I like how you're able to touch on different themes, while still keeping the whole star / sky / night motifs going. (Also very pretty visuals!)

Some favorite lines:

distance is the friend i stopped getting along with—
i got tired of its tendency to get in my way,
but it still makes plans for me sometimes.

the truth is, i won’t be ready when i see you,


Ah so many ways you could interpret the "distance" in that - and I really like the turn of phrase in the first line there.

we are creating new stars right here,
woven from the neon strands
from the nightlife below our window.

we hang them in the curtains
and then forget to look outside.


This is very beautiful - implying a sort of magic happening beyond view - this poem is so nicely phrased.

And I absolutely loved the entirety of poem iv.

You're doing great! These are really special. Keep on writing, and good luck this month!
you should know i am a time traveler &
there is no season as achingly temporary as now
but i have promised to return
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Silvern
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Tue Apr 12, 2022 8:59 pm
Silvern says... · Tue Apr 12, 2022 8:59 pm
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vi. a letter from the space shuttle


i used to think that i only belonged in forgotten spaces,
like in the void between planets and the sun, or
somewhere between the inner and outer panes of a window
looking down on a hazy world that i bid farewell to:
at least i could get mistaken for a star
by someone with high hopes.

i don’t blame you. it’s dark up here,
and we’re all looking for something to get us through this.


Spoiler
@lliyah thank you so much, I very much appreciate it! I haven't been doing the best at keeping up with a regular schedule, but I hope I do start writing more frequently-- best of luck to you too! <3
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.

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Silvern
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Thu Apr 14, 2022 9:00 pm
Silvern says... · Thu Apr 14, 2022 9:00 pm
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vii. the moon in your room


space travel starts in a room with glow-in-the-dark stickers
scattered on the ceiling above a sleepless haven,
a room with a solar system hanging down from wire strings
and a poster of challenger that the family doesn’t understand,
because why pick the failed experiment if you need a role model?
you might be dreaming of explosions more now,
but it’s hard to say why: it might just be from reading the science books
and the pages on io’s volcanic activity.

somewhere, if you open a door kept closed over,
there is a child sitting at a window,
seeing themself fall from the stars
and realizing they never reached escape velocity.

it would be time for a heat shield,
but you’ve never felt so cold in your life.
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.

silver (she/her)
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Silvern
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Wed Apr 20, 2022 12:25 am
Silvern says... · Wed Apr 20, 2022 12:25 am
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viii. even if i wanted to talk...


we didn’t say goodbye, because words don’t fill up this universe:
we just dash around alone on our cosmic migrations
and pray that we never collide on the paths
that we refuse to stray from, even after all this time.

from light-years away, i watch you try and rebuild yourself
out of all the fallen ice shards of other comets,
and you still don’t understand why you got too cold for me.

this is our tradition, our downfall,
our hopeless journey rooted in eternity.
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.

silver (she/her)
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Silvern
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Wed Apr 20, 2022 12:47 am
Silvern says... · Wed Apr 20, 2022 12:47 am
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ix. ...there is no sound in space


i don’t know if besides you, i’m all alone,
so distant that i’ll never worry about light pollution again.
i know i’d be screaming like a siren
if there was just a chance i could be heard.

i have to remember this every time i see the stars glow:

you are not a lighthouse, beckoning me home—
you are a wasteland, with fires still left burning,
a warning sign for me to stay far away.

there is only silence in those badlands, too.
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.

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niteowl
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Wed Apr 20, 2022 4:11 am
niteowl says... · Wed Apr 20, 2022 4:11 am
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These are all so very good. I think iii is my favorite-I am so guilty of making big plans and then failing to actually execute said plans and also completely ignoring reality. vii also hits uncomfortably close to home--it's such a fascinating expansion on the idea of "failure to launch".
"You do ill if you praise, but worse if you censure, what you do not understand." Leonardo Da Vinci

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