AN: Happy N7 Day! I originally wasn't going to post anything, until someone in the discord group suggested a poem. So enjoy and have a lovely day!
From Your Shining Star, Zenith
I came before you a fractured soul. Scarred from the acid of my failures and fears. I had closed myself off to it seeking darkness where I hadn't felt the kiss of my biotics. Mother's anxiety carried me to you.
You sheltered me in our home. You let me cry when I hadn't known I needed to. I etched the names of my comrades on a paper lantern; remembering our smiles, our flirtatious, our hopes and dreams. The guilt still ate me, though I honored them. What is my life? How could I possibly be more worthy than the fallen? Father embraced me with only the love he could give and told me, "You are kind and special kiddo but most importantly you're a Shepard."
I wore those words on my heart; repeated like a mantra. If I had realized that was to be the last peace I've known; I would have gripped on to it tightly, even if my skin fell from my body.
They call me a hero and it makes me pale. The heroics you showed those days on Elysium, rallying villagers human, asari, turian and salarian. You showed a school teacher how to fight, a gardener to fortify barriers, a child to distract his friends with song: you could make the inanimate believe. Though exhaustion threatened to take us from battle you kept us sated with the nourishment of your motivation.
The awe of your light shone on me but it was dimmed with just a stab to your belly. The flare of my inner light engulfed those who threatened to take you from me.
I held your once strong hands, now weakened by your impending death. I held you as the blood dripped from your mouth. I prayed to the Maker that medigel will be enough, but you stilled my face and whispered your happiness at my biotic display. The shadows crept closer as the last request passed your lips, "Tell your Mom I love her always. Tell her to be with the man she loves."
It was a strange promise that I relayed to my Mother. When I spoke of his words, the tears from her eyes surrounded her like an ocean. The grief had held us in place. I resented her because you weren't her sole love. Then your kindness and forgiveness took hold of my heart and made me open to her pain and we reconciled.
My father, I wish you could live to see your shining star Zenith. When I behold my auburn hair and see the galaxy of my freckles, you are not far behind, beaming down on me with pride. When people speak of my heart, are amazed by my deeds, silently I think of you father.
