The Stars Knew My Name
by Julianna Avila Daboub, Harkaway Hills College
Years 11 – 12 Written Poetry Finalist
The Stars Knew My Name
I hung where summer forgot me,
A blush-pink jewel
Fastened to the ear of the orchard,
While the leaves drew curtains of green
Against the harsh gaze of the sun.
Below me, woven baskets filled
And emptied,
Filled and emptied again.
The branch bent slightly beneath me,
Not in weakness, but in quiet devotion.
Swaying gently between whispers of leaves,
One by one,
The others disappeared.
The crisp green apples,
The golden ones that laughed with the wind,
The small ones tucked safely
Among the lower branches.
Gone.
And still I remained.
Rain traced silver paths down my skin.
Autumn stitched amber into the leaves.
Winter sharpened the air.
The orchard thinned to silence.
From my place above the world,
I watched the seasons gather
And scatter like fallen petals,
Wondering why no hand
Had ever stretched far enough.
The lower fruit had always been chosen first,
Gathered without effort,
Carried away before they had learned
The names of the stars.
Yet the highest branches
Kept their treasures.
There,
Where the bark thinned
And the wind spoke loudest,
The fruit ripened slowly,
Drinking sunlight untouched by shadows.
And though loneliness lingered
Like frost upon my skin,
I began to understand:
Some things are left waiting,
Not because they are unworthy,
But because they are found
Where only the brave dare climb.
So I remained,
A blush-pink lantern
Against the evening sky,
Waiting beneath the gaze of distant stars.