STARDUST
I will bet it is lonely, isolated, after all,
If you are truly leading
You are at the head, apex, foreground
First line of defence
First one in
Last one out
Rising with the sun
Keeping orbit as stardust does
After all
We are a species
Attached to the art of pack
But the composition of a leader
This is for the ones
That occupy solitude, voluntarily
Ask yourself, how is titan is made, born, grown?
Often, I find myself questioning
Just what is the aesthetic, the make, the scent, the gait, the breath,
the sweat, the pulse, the pitch, the width, the length, the depth of a icon?
I never had to query for long
Neither you,
Chances are
They are standing amongst you
Like giants, masquerading as the average height mortal
They weep when sad
They laugh when elated
They think when needing to reflect
They are living in the residue of stardust
I’d say you can almost spot them
If you follow the iridescent trail of galactic matter,
it’s glistens, but only when it catches the light
So, what are the characteristics of a pioneer?
What brings out the hero in the heroine?
How do they act under pressure, under fire, in the flow, walking in purpose?
Could you spot a living Minerva if they entered your presence?
I’d like to think so
I’d like to imagine myself keeping company
amongst Greek Gods, the greats, the historical dreamers
In times of crisis, war, national despair
You will find them often alone.
pouring, scouring, reading, feeling, interpreting, interacting,
The journey of leadership cannot be steeped in the false cries of a rally unhinged.
They look around the atmosphere, be it Parliament, Congress, town hall,
city square, hospital waiting room, congested interstates,
and they observe, breathe deeply, assess, obsess, ingest, and then react.
The road of leadership must be paved while traveling,
repaired whilst breaking, restored whilst being built.
This isn’t for the heartless, the hard edged, the stone milled,
this isn’t for the stealth then Ravenous.
It is for the gracious, and patient.
The duty, the allegiance, the decisive diligence of leadership is for the one unafraid to weep.
For the one that can stand alone and deliver a condolence speech,
with commitment to consider the future of a world yet to be born.
Leading isn’t for the house proud, the one worried sick of public perception.
The leader knows, they may not always be understood,
but they lead so the future may too one day talk lovingly of their past.
This is no easy task.
Not the in the wake of a titanic size pandemic.
Not in the face of parents mourning the loss of their children at the hand of a lack of gun safety.
You show me in the last 150 years
a time where the darkest of nights
shone its face for weeks, then months, years at a time.
You show me a leader that led for future
of a world that we ought to leave our babies.
You show me a human in history
that thought nothing of her gender
defy gender gravity.
You show me, and while you search for a selfless, empathetic, kind and decisive monarch,
president, king, ruler, prime minister
I’ll kindly point your focus to a woman
that held office
whilst the world held their breath
I’ll show you a leader that didn’t mind being pensive,
as she managed the fate of her nation,
its sovereignty and ecological safety
You show me a country, a town, a province, a street corner
that didn’t mourn the greatest global pause of all time – without derision!
You show me one where ethics, integrity, and compassion
remained the centre of their reign.
You will only one result in return,
the Right Honourable Dame & Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Be you follower, be you crowd gathered, be you global citizens,
it is only right to understand when history has been made in front of our very eyes!
This is me asking
begging and pleading with you
To open your eyes
Stretch out your palms wide
Arms above your head
So high – you graze the galaxy widespread
Darlings don’t you understand
that it takes a leader
to lead the village to protect the land
This is the work
This is the moment
when you take the cut poppies,
the lilies the discarded
rose petals aground and make a flora,
a bouquet, you assemble –
In times like these we rally,
we stand, we shield and harness our power
As a forcefield impenetrable
Implacable and fortified
Not for later, now is the time!
Humans, followers, dreamers, leaders, ladies
we are STARDUST.
Unsettled, unrelenting, ubiquitous and when aligned,
GALACTIC.
Don’t you dare play small, or let your voice drown.
It is time for us to make sure, not another 150 years passes
before your daughters take their rightful place as the galaxies they are.
This our OBLIGATION
This is our OPPORTUNITY
We are one, one people, one land
One global Nation, and it was, is, and forever will be an honour
to have lived in a time where a Well Behaved
and Intentioned Woman made history.
Matriarch, dynamo, Minerva, Heroine
May your next season, chapter, purpose be aflame
with your grace, your candour, your heart,
and your brain trust. And a thousand thanks for your reminder and example
to never settle and REMAIN as Stardust.
— ~ Azure Antoinette
