A Convolution of Astral Forces
we fetishize what we’ve
abandoned and what’s
abandoned us, which leads us
to obsess, says a series of posts
by an Instagram therapist
the mystery of the unseen
inside of things, the numinous
body’s portals and holes:
breathing passages, the mouth,
anything below the waist
you’re not a bad person
for wanting to merge with
someone else
some days the sky is a mirror
offer yourself up for adoration
think of a line of blinking fireflies
trailing the underside of night clouds
headed for the moon
that evening, after we saw
the perplexingly bright light string
beautiful and freaky and ethereal
after she told us that her father
loved to drive, got a job driving
a Good Humor truck through
the city at seventeen
then got fired for giving away
all the ice cream for free, Maeve
reminded us to let the doubt
into our work
We refuse to be intimidated
by uncertainty or time, we thought
after her pep talk
after we Googled “perplexingly
bright light string” and got
Elon Musk and Starlink
6000-plus mass-produced
satellites in low Earth orbit
designed to communicate
with designated ground
transceivers
some people think this
is how prayer works
direct messaging, then
intercession
Santa’s train of reindeer
carting gifts because you
made a list, but it’s August
your higher power won’t
answer, though it can be
anything: the universe,
Dolly Parton, science,
a household battery made
of seven components
that result in an electro-
chemical reaction
all the parts working together
to create energy we rely on
something carries the current
someone thinks we deserve
something good
Source: Poetry (December 2024)