499 seconds to sundown

by annie wu

cover photo by kristen seo

we have known for a long time 

that it will be the sun that swallows us whole.

in that way, stars are a lot like people:

hungry and bright, 

searching for an infinity that does not exist.

if people were bottled starlight

it’s no wonder we watch them metastasize,

eat themselves alive, 

then fold into bitter, bitter collapse—

the brightest stars always seem to hide black holes.

maybe we love the stars because there is safety in distance 

fear keeps us chained to the beckoning of a constellation

i wonder if you can taste the iron pressed behind your teeth,

a sign of self combustion—

what terrible tragedy is love 

that does not chase heels but eats itself alive?

sunlight takes about 499 seconds to get to earth

i wonder how long we will have the day 

the sun’s hunger begins to gnaw its way out .

it’s not as simple as saying that iron is a star killer—

as it is, people are a lot like iron too

the difference is, on earth we rust.

even when we are supposed to be tougher and colder,

we are still left brittle and wanting and lost.

these days, we always seem to be searching for some

one.

thing.

when we die, i wonder if we will get the full 499 seconds.

i always forget that space is silent

our death, swallowed whole in that too.

imagine that:

the death of a star in a vacuum.

(supernova potential, extinguished.)