_to the lost spelunker_

[misguided ghost]

_to the lost spelunker_

if you ever find
you have been spelunking too long
and you are lost in a cavern
with twinkling somethings
all around
the only light
coming from those specks surrounding you
then pay close attention
to these instructions

one. look around you
notice the shimmering
of each unique light
the amazing similarities
between those
and stars
observe the light
coming from below your very feet
and realise
you seem to be
suspended in space

two. touch the lights
feel the tiny little spots of fire
embedded in the rock
minuscule flames
licking at your fingertips
as the warmth spreads
and you begin to glow

three. shine
the soft fire disappears
from its place in the rock
hold out your fingers
you can see them now
faintly glowing
let the tiny flame inside you grow
until you are too dazzling to behold
and you shine
brighter than the rest

four. join the others
this part is entirely beyond you
i just thought you ought to know
what happens next
you will find yourself
being sucked into the atmosphere
through the hole that once held your fire
you will look around
bewildered
disoriented from lightspeed travel
you will see stars
not conjured in your mind
though that’s what you’ll think
at first
but then you see a planet
your first home
you’ve only seen in photos
you had stared at pictures in wonder
but this positively winds you
cream oceans
lilac clouds
sunset continents
more peaceful than you’d imagined
more beautiful than you’d hoped

five. observe
look down on the world you left
only moments ago
watch the people
go about their lives
they each fall in love
a few hearts end up broken
but the ones whose lovers stayed
place babies in cradles
then it’s all gone
you hear bombs explode
and mothers cry
watch in horror
a crack forms
tearing the surface of the picturesque planet
as war rages on below you
there was a war back home?
how long had you been gone?
the answer, darling spelunker,
is this
stars live longer than the rest of us
you die much later than we
things can seem to change too fast
but you are just aging slower than i

decades have passed
since you left us here
there was no war
when you entered the sky
but, dearest spelunker, i hate to say
people make war
that is our way

-jamie clemens, head astronomer of astrinia