you told me the moon was shy
that it would only appear at night, shrouded by darkness
but the stars, you said, kissed the moon bright
because it needed someone else to help it gleam

you revealed that the moon was vulnerable
it slowly shed its skin to soak up all the hurt in the world
only to shield itself once more with a crescent-shaped smile
the stars want to protect the moon, you murmured
but starlight isn’t the moon’s armor

sometimes i think i can still hear your voice echoing in the wind
i imagine you dancing on storm clouds
& sneaking past the second star to the right
i envision you sliding down thunder clap sound waves
& pirouetting around lightning bolts
i can see you bursting into a thousand falling stars
i’ll always remember you said wishes were the only things keeping the moon alive