By GRACIE ROWLAND

I feel cleaner, my fears farther away, after staring at the stars in their great cosmos.
They allow me to find beauty, allow me half a moment to forget my sorrows.

Like a great laughing tapestry above my head,
Like a poem that demands to be read,
The stars help me feel smaller, help me forget both the living and the dead.

But the stars cannot starve me of my despair,
Cannot let me forget the rage I feel inside, that familiar red glare.

I just need a mother, or a father, or even a god to talk to,
I just need someone to tell me it will be all right.
But I’m left with no reply from my loving sky,
So I pace all through the velvet night.

So I pace all through the velvet night. 

Writer | Gracie Rowland ’25 | growland25@amherst.edu
Editor | Evelyn Chi ’25 | etchi25@amherst.edu