Eight of Cups

I Lied About the Stars
by Lauren Puglisi

I lied about the stars, those bright
moles on the skin of the cosmos.
I told you they were still alive.
It’s not a complete lie – not really.
I’ve been told we can still see stars
that died millions of years ago,
their lights still sharp in the sky.
Sometimes memory overrides reality.
Sometimes when you want to hold on to something
you can convince yourself it’s still there.
There is still a light
hidden somewhere in that darkness.
Even the universe has trouble letting go.

Lauren Puglisi (she/her) received an honourable mention in Small Orange Journal’s 2020 Emerging Woman Poet Honour. Her poetry has appeared in Hanging Loose, The Merrimack Review, Blacklist Journal, and Laurel Moon. She holds a BA from Brandeis University and is an MSW candidate at Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. She is based in New York City.