This work was first published in Spread the Word’s Young Writers Collective Anthology, 2025. This anthology stands as a testament to the courage, creativity, and growth of a remarkable group of young poets who have spent seven months exploring the power of language and self-expression. The anthology is more than a collection of poems—it is a celebration of emerging voices, of stories told with boldness and vulnerability.
All of the poems can be read here on our website, or you can download the Young Writer’s Collective Anthology to read as a PDF.
What Happens When the Stars Stop Shining? by Dominique Vincent
In a room of scattered glow-in-the-dark stars,
I learnt how to dream. Comfort was knowing
that universes existed on the bookcase by my bed
tucked beneath my tower of pillows
every night a new adventure.
I was princess and knight
completing the quest and vanquishing evil with death
Just like the stories
in pursuit of peace everlasting.
But the curiosity of a child is unfortunate.
Closed doors, a dare and hushed tones, a challenge.
I learnt that death was not about saving kingdoms
it was illness and decay
and mourning
long before Death made an appearance
all-encompassing yet hollow
and coming for us all.
So, I thought about death in the same room.
The stars long turned to ruins, yet to be excavated
buried along with the fairytales that had been moved
to storage. Amongst the darkness, it mocked me.
Reshaped storylines, implanted figures
and I would tell you more
but it’s a bad omen to utter your dreams of death out loud.
They made a home in me
and once marked, I saw it everywhere
but I didn’t feel it until I heard my mother’s cry of grief for her own.
How quickly that child resurfaces and the adult hides.
The adult can tell the child that it’s just a monster in the closet,
But the adult knows the truth.
And they can’t tell if it’s their heartbeat or breath quickening in the silence
or if that weight in their chest is its firm grip
or the realisation that
everything has changed
and you’ll never get it back.
About Dominique Vincent
Dominique Vincent (she/her) is a poet and filmmaker born and raised in South London. She has a Bachelor’s in English Literature and Film from the University of Reading. She was a part of the 2nd Iteration of the V&A’s Inwrds Cohort in 2024. Her work covers the different dimensions of Blackness particularly through the lens of archiving and reclaiming history. Dominique’s Sierra Leonean Heritage is also a common theme in her work.