Dhaval Jani - 2nd place in Poetry
UCSD - Computer Science major with a minor in Environmental Systems
A real story shared by my dad, I often found comfort through the idea of my ancestors looking down at me and taking care of me. Whenever I feel alone, I can stand underneath the night sky and feel surrounded by my loved ones again. I hope that you can share the same feeling after reading this.
“Light Pollution”
my dad once told me the stars are our ancestors
looking down on us with less questions and more answers
he said they would take care of me when i need
one day he would join them, he’d repeat
my dad will pass one day and i’ll look at the night sky
remembering his words looking for a star sharing his eye
but some nights i look up there now
and the sky has no stars, and my ancestors are not to be found
my descendants may not see the clouds
let alone the shimmering stars
lost in the world of light
with no sky to stare upon
the past is nowhere to be found
and the future may be swallowed by the work of our own
but i hope the stars will still loom in the sky
even if our world doesn't know of them anymore