The Sentinel

It stood,
as duty
demanded.
The timeline
stretched
back                            back                     back
to verdant,
to other
times.

It stood,
as mute
witness
to devastation.
Time changed,
and millennia
became centuries
became decades
became years.

The sentinel
witnessed
those fleeting
those tragic
those final
moments,
until it fell,
and
      the
           timeline


ceased.

Constellations

Each point of light
a sparkling memory
brightening existential night.
Friends and foe,
and nemeses abound,
in a shimmering cosmic glow.

Family, present and past,
brighten our galaxy
with loving stellar cast.
Memories of pain
eclipsed by love,
sparkle again and again.

These twinkling recollections
guide us through the dark
with the warmth of our reflections.
One wonders if they will be gone,
in the rapidly encroaching
inevitability of dawn.