Alien Moons

My heart beats to tides pulled by alien moons,

Sailing an acid yellow sea beaten by boiling martian winds.

The vessel has patched sides, a thin hull,

Threadbare sails made of time. Rips punch through,

rending ragged fabric edges, with infinite space

through the gap.

For so long I clung to the mast, screaming

until my throat bled: THE UNIVERSE IS PEACE,

YOU DO NOT NEED TO STRUGGLE, VIOLENCE

IS FOR THE BLIND, FIND THE GENTLE

IN YOURSELVES! While my ship mates

Only laughed at me, a fat woman who had

No place among the brutal-muscled

Fraternity of those who sailed

A sea they could not fathom.

And I’d be clutching that mast still,

Splinters beneath my nails, the skin of my chest shredded

By shattered wooden dreams.

But the ship heaved ignorance and I tumbled

through a tattered ghost fabric to the great beyond.

I found the universe was vast

And echoed with peace.

I floated untethered, found a berth in a burst of brilliance

And I sit and hum my message

Surrounded by busy stars

I strive to serve.

Sometimes when I close my eyes

I can feel the heave of that acid storm

Beneath my feet

And see distorted rainbows of polluted skies

Behind my lids.

I can hear the echo of the unfathomed

Bitter sea

And wonder that the ship

Would not founder without me.

I keep my eyes closed

For fear of my grief

When I no longer see

My alien moon.