[Update: this poem was recently published by Elephant Journal here sans linkage.]
“The Moon Also Rises"
[Note: the links in this poem are not spam but well researched articles that add context to what I am referring to (yay education!) Some of the links add another dimension to the poem, but please do not take any of the links too literally; yes, they are specific instances of what I am referring to, but the great thing about poetry is that it is figurative. If a phrase brings to mind something for you, hold on to that, don't let the links interfere with your interpretation (unless of course it is absurd). One of the awesome things about writing online is the ability to be exact while retaining creativity.]
Did you know
when planes of
dry earth
crash together
the friction
sparks
Did you know
modicums
of precipitations'
love affair
with air
coruscates
All this praise
of the fire,
All this intimating
desire;
Did you know
I once met
Skaftafellsjökull
Did you know
the Ice
bleeding frigidly
from humanities’
global phlebotomies
pooling towards the Arctic
told me
Her tributaries’
tintinnabulations
susurrating in my ear
just because she’s melting
doesn’t mean she’ll disappear
See her currents in our oceans
Her tides peel back long ferns of
macerated
deluged
Earth
the West thirsts
from her absence
as she consumes
Kiribati
waters surge
the Moon Also Rises
wielding her caduceus
Gravity
we barely knew thee
flirted a couple times
but electromagnetism
caught the eye
the Strong
and the Weak
Foces
hold
out.
Save
up
your rain checks
and one day
you’ll be rich
in holidays
Of Doomsdays
we can say so much
speculation,
hoaxes,
warnings,
predictions,
Disaster Capitalism
who doesn’t like a little
murder mystery
the British can’t resist
being masters
Though they feign desistence
Americans kill
more than
a people
a plural
of ecosystems
we purge
through an addiction
to piquant alliteration
Marketing
to children is so easy.
Did you know
When You Shop
You Save
millions from existing
Did you know
the same millions
are building a black hole
in the pacific ocean
Out of the plastic bags
my aborted fetus
crept off
to do my bidding
in the other worlds
in other words
Did you know
You Are the Shepherd
not Her bridegroom
and one of the Things
Shepherds must
Tend and Prune
Thin and Consume
Did you know
the difference
between
shopping
and shepherding
is personal
is blood
Did you know
there are plants
that live in symbiotic
relationships with animals
including even the most murderous one
humans can help
by picking and eating
but growing and feeding
maybe we ought to rethink
what we’re telling the robots
to tell us what we’re doing
is beyond zeros and ones
Not Everything is Binary
Did you know
the age old
boundaries between
alive and dead
can be queered
into a better understanding
of what is really dyeing
and what is already
dead
Did you know
ethics are not relative
and culture is
according to who wants to know
the anthropology of parasites
Did you know
as the moon appears to wane
and set on one hemisphere
the Moon Also Rises
Waxing,
in The Other
but In Truth
we wax
we wane
together.
Much gratitude to D. and especially J. for your love and help in my education through our conversations and travels.