It’s dark, Tiny specks lining the sky, Randomly splayed out Like freckles on a face. Those tiny specks are stars. They live there, Unseen. I’ve always wondered, Is there more than this life? The people on this Earth, The hungry, The tired, The gorgeous People, Are they the only ones? Maybe somewhere, So far, Something resides, Happy and content, Showered in love and affection. But can anyone reach it?

That orb there - shining No, the one to the left Yes, it’s shimmering - Who is looking down at us? Do we share emotions, Thoughts, personalities? Can we begin to comprehend Life on that star, or another, Or life anywhere besides here? What do houses look like there, The idea of home - is there one? If there is not, we would have To figure out a whole new way Of thinking, and what a chore That would be. Would they Even welcome us? I wouldn’t, If things were the other way around We are invasive So let’s sit on this grass Enjoying what we have here Until it is taken away, Deservedly

We stare up at the sky Hand in hand Not discussing our thoughts But knowing just the same

I stare off into space And I can almost see Us living on our own planet Just you and me

We would laugh and dance and sing Not a care in the world With each other for company

I would hold you close and you would let me But in the end, its not meant to be

Beyond the Elysian stars, A much different world had opened, Where matter danced Ever so freely to this one absolute frequency.

Beings of endless light, Who had no strife, Nor a body to touch, No tears would be shed.

Maybe I had known this place before; How awfully I longed to go back home.

Maybe their cold doesn’t hurt Maybe their sun doesn’t boil Maybe their sunset lasts longer Maybe their oceans are calm

Maybe they aren’t lonely Maybe they don’t have hearts at all Maybe they all live happily Maybe they remember how to smile

Maybe they have a place for me

Lying in the grass Feeling it tickle as my ankles. I stare up at the multitude of stars in the night sky.

How vast the universe is. How many other planets that must contain Some sort of other life forms! The idea! Oh, it makes you wonder Doesn’t it?

Here I lay on the surface of what we call Earth The mountains, grass, and ocean is all I have know since birth I wonder what life is like miles away in the Milky Way I wonder if they live like us and our cheery ways Every night I lie on the Earth’s blanket to spy Spy on all the twinkling stars and the majesty the moon

Under the bright moonbeam I like to imagine Imagine how my day would be if i grew up somewhere called Querencia Querencia a place of hopes and day dreams Querencia a place that makes me beam Querencia a place where flowers grow bigger and brighter than your dreams Querencia a place I feel like forever I’ve known Querencia a place I can truly call home

Maybe Querencia can be my abditory A place to begin a beautiful love story I wonder if your sunsets are as breathtaking as ours I wonder if you have any superpowers Even now we share the same sky Looking up at a million fireflies I hope Querencia is as wonderful as I imagine But I know Earth is better than you could ever picture it happen

The girl exhaled, her breath condensing in a faint puff as she gazed. She imagined the countless exoplanets tucked away in each pinpoint of light.

Perhaps of all the stars her naked eye could see, not a single one held more than a puddles’ worth of microorganisms. Perhaps of all the stars beyond her view, only one held life anywhere near as complex as that on her own.

Perhaps those people looked up at the sky and imagined the same. Imagined her.

What would that planet be like?

Perhaps this planet was also close to its star. Perhaps it too was tidally locked, bathing one side in forever scorching sun and the other a constant swath of darkness. Her people lived in the terminator zone, a place of twilight. Only in the past centuries had they dared encroach upon the eternal night.

Perhaps this planet would be placed confidently in the Goldilocks zone. Perhaps it would spin, with life-bringing daylight cycles. Perhaps this planet was more diverse. Perhaps it had a dozen moons. Perhaps there were a thousand things she would never know about this marvel of a marble. Perhaps it’s people were content with themselves and didn’t see fit to think stellar thoughts.

Perhaps this planet had no war. Perhaps things were better. Or perhaps things were worse. And someone would look up at the stars, dreaming of Zira, seeing it to be paradise.

Perhaps there was nobody out there.

But Amrynn liked to think there was.

I’m sure it is paradise, but I am alone Natural beauty, untouched A day is far too long Without another human soul to share it with

Wild animals roam free Nothing to hurt me But sinking loneliness Just one hammock in the tree

Hummingbirds sing, sweet songs to each other My laughter goes unheard What life is this, if not to know another? I would rather have been spared

In the vast expanse of the cosmic sea, Where distant stars twinkle, so far and free, There lies a planet, unknown to our sight, A world of wonders, bathed in celestial light.

Its atmosphere, a tapestry of hues, With swirling clouds in vibrant blues, A symphony of colors, dancing in the air, A spectacle so enchanting, beyond compare.

On this distant planet, life takes a different form, Evolved and adapted to a world so warm, Creatures with limbs that stretch and bend, In ways that our minds can barely comprehend.

In forests of crystal, trees glisten and gleam, With leaves that shimmer, like a radiant dream, Their roots intertwine, beneath the soil deep, Connecting all life in a mystical leap.

The oceans, vast and teeming with life, With creatures that swim, dance, and strife, Their bodies aglow, like stars in the night, Guiding the lost, with their ethereal light.

And in the skies, majestic beings soar, With wings that span wider than ever before, They glide through the heavens, with grace and ease, Their feathers shimmering, like celestial keys.

On this distant planet, harmony prevails, Where love and compassion never fails, A world where differences are celebrated, And unity is treasured, never underrated.

As I lie in the grass, gazing at the stars, Imagining life on a planet so far, I am filled with hope, and a sense of awe, That out there, somewhere, this planet I saw.

For in the vastness of the universe’s embrace, Countless worlds exist, each with its own space, And as we ponder their existence, so grand, We realize that life’s possibilities are truly unplanned.