sunshine dew by Brian Lee (19, Singapore)

call it the glimmer of
millennia: how clear our dreams
were, when we were little
and in the dark, each other
unshakeable pillars, watching
them flicker from afar

as we lay in the grass.
leaves began to fall; not
a cloud swirled in the sky. we
named all of them with such
rehearsed ease: the hole-in-three
was orion. eastward lay
sirius. we danced with the

big dipper, made a wish on
halley’s comet. touching them
with our fingertips, we would
someday disembark with
our toes. the path was charted;

despite us having no
trajectory, we were already
there: we knew; we knew. a kiss
and two clenched fists are
but a minute affirmation of
our unending, meandering

universe. but then

came the cumulonimbus,
a storm that brewed from

the nether, that much more
immiment, for two years.
what aldebaran, what
betelguese? i sank into the
mire and mud, all you could do

was run. who would have blamed
the sinners, scrambling
to outrun noah’s deluge?
yes, survival always outpaces
speculation: the voyage not yet
dashed, only delayed. but still

watch how the sun
cracks its first rays of dawn,
warm yolk gently cradling
me, alone. smile, he said,
enjoy the sunshine, brighter
than all in the night sky.

the day has just begun.