Writing with Juliet Iwelunmor

There up in the sky, there like a season, a greeting, in the darkness of the night,

are stars shining brightly for all those moments you bless in pain,

those you cherish for no gain,

every single time, you wished time passed gently, leaving nothing behind,

whether the day remembers or the night forgets, know that stars are yours,

and they will shine brightly, when you follow it gently,

through pain and all you gained,

these stars will shine for you,

and they will glow through the things you see or do not see,

dazzle through moments full of wonder and surprise,

for they are like the ocean and its songs,

the air and its whisper, darkness is not the enemy, stars are your friend.

I heard a lie a little over a month ago about someone using my name for work. They lied about how they worked for me and even how they got to be here in the first place. My response, I have moved on. The stars I follow are mine, intact and within. So many are destined to start a journey with you but I learned that they do not continue it with you. If my stars have dimmed where you are, know that the skies are big enough, find your star and follow it. Nothing made this more clear than mass on Christmas Day.

We went to church yesterday while on vacation and I was a bit stunned when the visitors at church outnumbered the people who belong to the church. It got me thinking about the role of church in people’s lives today. The pastor talked about the shepherds who dropped everything they were doing to follow a star. Three wise men too came from afar to pay homage to a child via a star they had seen. If today you see a star, would you drop all you were doing to follow it and for the world today, with so much noise and distractions, the question would be which star? Would we even see it? Are divine stars even easy to spot these days. The idea of a star has always intrigued me. I used to go to the science museum with my kids just to watch the sky tonight, a little show they would put about all the stars and planets visible in the sky at that time. I was even inspired to write the bright star book so kids too would know a little bit about stars. My dream is that many may see a star, up in the sky or within them and follow its path. We may not see it anymore in the way the shepherds or three wisemen saw it back during their time, but your star is always there, forever ready to shine bright for you. Keep following it and no need to lie about other people’s stars or even follow theirs, when yours is within, if only you look.

Inspired by Ben Okri’s African Elegy