Star Burn

“But the stars don’t shine, they burn.” -Mirabel in Encanto

Photo by Matheus Bertelli: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-using-umbrella-with-lights-573238/

What does it mean for a star

to burn?

For I am a star and

feel myself burning —

sad, happy, angry,

passion churning;

lived through trauma,

abuse, and people’s spurning;

yet here I am every day

yearning;

to be noticed and acknowledged,

to make a galaxy and connection;

for my star to rise, to shoot

my shot before burning out.