Okay, so this is kind of a short, random, pointless oneshot of Gaara. xP I need to memorize the poem used here (Stars, by Sara Teasdale) for school, and the only way I can memorize other than repeating it aloud so many times I lose my voice is to write about it and go over the story so many times in editing that I know it by heart. xD; Anyways, enjoy! =3

Gaara: Kaiti doesn't own me, this poem, the sky/stars, or anything else mentioned. If you try and disagree... *sand swirls restlessly*

Alone in the dark night
On a dark hill
With pines around me
Spicy and still

Gaara slipped into the forest surrounding Konoha, looking for some quiet time. It was dark that particular night, the moon a barely visible crescent shape in the sky.

He climbed up to the top of a hill and inhaled deeply. The smell of the forest's many trees was one not often (or ever, if he was being honest) found in the desert. It was a very pleasant calm.

And a heaven full of stars
Over my head,
White and topaz
And misty-red;

Gaara tilted his head back and studied the stars. Before he had come to this village, and before Naruto had shown him true strength, he never would have appreciated such a sight.

But tonight, as he stared up at the stars, his mind worked tirelessly, wondering at their beauty. Some were bigger than others, and some were different colors. There were so many.

Should he try and count them?

Myriads with beating
Hearts of fire
That aeons
Cannot vex or tire;

Gaara had made it to forty-three thousand, six hundred ninety-eight before he stopped trying to count them all. There was simply no end to them.

Some small part of his mind reminded him that this beauty was nothing more than large balls of fire burning far away, but another part of him marveled. It marveled that there were so many, and that they hadn't burned out by now.

Spending some time in Konoha recently had taught him about its shinobi's "will of fire". That fire had begun long ago as well, yet he doubted that it would burn itself out anytime in the foreseeable future.

Up the dome of heaven
Like a great hill,
I watch them marching
Stately and still,

As Gaara watched the sky continuously throughout the night, his mind roamed in another direction. He could almost let himself believe that the sky was nothing more than a rooftop, one he could touch if he tried hard enough.

The stars winked down at him, moving across the dark, endless ceiling without going anywhere.

And I know that I
Am honored to be
Witness
Of so much majesty.

How many people had (like Gaara, once) ignored this glorious sight? How many people took it for granted?

Gaara vowed never to do so again. He knew that as long as he lived, as long as he cared, he would stare up at the sky and appreciate it. He would thank it, for showing him its glory – the stars.

He would be honored to be able to see them.

Well? Even though it's one step away from being homework, I still like reviews! xD