I want to see a star
up close, not far away.
I want to feel its heat
let it burn my skin away.
Bright lights
oh so distant.
Blue nights
familiar instance.
I want to see a star
up close, till I go blind.
I want to reach and feel
that blazing ball of light.
North or South—I don’t care.
Pick a star and take me there.
Burn me up
in a flash of blue.
Take me up
I want to see you.
Blue nights
in seasons of joy and pain.
Bright lights
hope burning so far away.
This one may seem a bit confusing, but I think if you step outside on a lonely quiet night and look up at the stars, you'll understand it better.
The name of the poem serves as both a descriptor (nights often appear blue) and a way to set the tone for the poem (feeling blue). Getting into the poem, the narrator seems to be having one of these blue nights. The narrator sees the stars and wants to be near them. Often we see stars as hopeful and calming, and the narrator uses this. Yet the narrator continually describes them as being "far away" and "oh so distant". The narrator's hope seems to be pretty far away, and they're desperate for it. They want to be close to it, even if it means burning away (1st and 5th stanza) or going blind (3rd stanza).
It can be pretty easy to run out of hope. There are so many problems in each of our day-to-day lives, and at some point we will feel defeated, I guarantee it. And even though we know there's hope, sometimes it's hard to find it, to really feel it. We see the stars, but they seem so far away.
I think that sometimes when we have a "blue night" we feel guilty about it, especially if we know the truth and know where to place our hope. But something I've come to realize is that it's okay to have a "blue night" every once in a while. It's natural, and a part of the incredible experience we call life. But we can't forget that the stars are still there, even if they seem distant or are covered by a cloud. There's still hope. Let a blue night be a blue night, but don't forget the stars.
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