Stars on the Ceiling
BY RACHEL TESLER
Lying here in a pool of regret
Next to vintage posters of “The Shins” and “The Godfather”
And a Garfield alarm clock that doesn’t work
I wonder if I knew I’d hate you after this.
I knew I couldn’t bare
to look at your toothy grin and
to want you anymore and
now thinking of you makes me sick
so I guess it worked,
Like exposure therapy for this puppy love,
I knew I couldn’t go on like this any longer.
Wanting you took up too much space in my brain and
I did the only thing I knew to make it stop—
Kill the fantasy with reality.
So now,
On these navy-striped sheets,
I’m cast in the dim afternoon light
peeking through the blinds.
Between after-school band practice and the next episode of The O.C. (on at 8pm ET)
And of course,
The toxic plastic afterglow
Of glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling.
Rachel Tesler
Rachel Tesler is an award-winning writer and producer with 10+ years working in film and television. She has developed her craft as a multimedia storyteller producing the top news stories of the day and longform documentary series on topics ranging from crime to human interest. As an undergraduate at Boston University, her screenplay Little Lost Puppy won the First Place Award in the Fleder-Rosenberg Screenwriting contest, as part of the Redstone Film Festival. At Boston University, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Bachelor of Science in Film and Television. Rachel has lived and worked in politics and media all over the world including Boston, Washington, D.C., Jerusalem, London, and New York City. In 2017, she graduated from Columbia University with her Master of Arts in English Education. She published her first book UNBLOSSOMING, a series of poetry in 2023. She started Tattletales Productions in 2024, a boutique production house focused on documentary film and development. She lives in New York City. Professional Portfolio: https://www.racheltesler.co/
