Midnight Blue, Faded

i drew twin stars on my ring finger

with a marker that was not meant to–

a bit scratchy, a bit soothing

a temporary tattoo dim on skin

echoing stars i’ve tilted my head

to stare at too many times–

nestled amongst the moon

yearning bright, pulling tides

which crash through walls

i've built up too many times–

pruning skin, washing grime,

capturing breath

like how i captured the stars

drowning in the night sky–

brought them into orbit

with thin scratchy markers

in hopes they would remind me of

my place in the universe–

ever floating, ever burning

trapped within the confines of the infinite sky

About the Author

Ven Mubarak is a senior Creative Writing major and a Theater Arts minor. They are forever yearning for something out of reach and bide their time writing poetry, fiction, and musings.