          To Be a Star


There he was on stage
In a small cafe
Before a couple dozen people,
Singing of dreaming
Of being a star.

Now you know
And I know
What he meant by that.
But still ...

     To be a star,
     A jewel in the night sky of a hundred worlds
     Whose travelers look for you
     To guide them home to where their children make wishes
          for their speedy safe return
     When you appear
     In the sky
     Of soft summer evenings
     To be wished on. 

     To be a star,
     To be looked up to by seers and sages
     Seeking inside information on the doings of the gods
     Or what is written for the future
     Or what time and space are made of
     And why things are
     As they are.

     To be a star --
     To be a superstar?
     The brightest thing in the heavens of a thousand worlds,
     Burning yourself up at a furious rate 
          for a scant few million years,
     Then going out in a final blaze of glory
     And a quick fall into obscurity,
     Pulling your hole in after you?

To be a star
Is not necessarily to outshine the galaxy.
But it is to shine brightly enough
To be seen
And known
And loved.


                                        Thomas G. Digby
                                        written 0250 hr  6/29/77
                                        type    0345 hr  7/09/77
                                        entered 1650 hr  4/11/92
                                        format  14:07 12/22/2001
