The Concept of Stars (Conversations With a Three-Year-Old)

I tried to explain the concept of stars

to a three-year-old, who couldn’t quite fathom

why we loved what we did.

He held onto his stuffed rabbit and asked

‘what are those lights in the sky’, with wide eyes

and a genuine interest in human nature.

I explained to him that they were stars, and

when he asked what that meant, I said

‘they’re just balls of gas, light and hope’

and these vast spheres of gas and light

and hope, govern us. Tyrannize our tiny

existence with their somewhat larger indulgence.

How we worship supernovas and eclipses, how

we wish on things that merely embellish the moon,

that glow. How we loved to watch things, and pretend

that they were of some sort of importance. We could

spend whole nights lying on our backs with lovers

watching still shots of the void fuel our sad, harsh realities.

I tried to explain the concept of stars

to a three-year-old, who couldn’t quite fathom

why we loved what we did. Neither could I.