Those Who Went Before

A dying star
Collapsing in on itself
Looks out
Across the vast emptiness that lies before it
The wasteland
Of husk planets
Circled by cold, dead moons
Into the aeons
Into the eyes
Of all the other stars
Still burning so brightly

For a minute
There is envy
A longing
For the way things were
To shine down on barren landscapes
And see
Motion
Color
Life
Where now there lies
Only memories
And the dead
Those who were unable
To leave

Seeing these scenes
Of sadness and horror
The star recalls
The exodus
And the envy felt then
As so many fled
The bitterness
And rejection
That came with knowing
That everyone and everything
Would soon be gone

So short-lived
These jealous moments were
As then came an awareness
Of the potential
A profound sense of pride
For those who were leaving
To start anew
To bring about
Motion
Color
Life
Elsewhere

So letting go
Though laden with a growing void within
The star realizes
In its final moments
That it too
May someday travel
Out into the expanse
And follow
The paths
Charted by those
Who went before