Starlight, Starbright

We counted the stars upon our arrival
Just after the melt of the snow
Orion, Cassieopia, the milky belt, but
I could not yet know

Our love was just as distant.

The children ran to and fro
As tiny conquistadors taking a stand
Conquering acres of freedom
Taming a brave new land

Of promise and potential and hope.

We surveyed all we owned,
All we earned through toil and tears
The land was good; the promise stood
The fruit of our fruitful years

A proper nest for a bountiful brood.

But the stars burned like molten silver
Falling on us one by one
Until the land incinerated
Until all our dreams were done

And the bones of what we might have become
Lay exposed in the yard under a merciless sun.