Amanda Maret Scharf & Hannah Smith

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Karissa Ho

Astral Pining

Amanda Maret Scharf & Hannah Smith

The plastic bag ballooned its way to the moon.

There was traffic at the center of the universe.

One strand of highway flew off with the wind.

A blacklight orchid cast its shadow on the wall of the parking garage.

Between two panes, infinite stars were pulled into the ship.

Somewhere else, a table was set for the Mars party.

And you know what that means.

I told two lies into the mirror.

Venus called me on one of them.

On the other end of the line, she sang a third.

When the laser cut a pattern in my shirt, I thought of diamonds.

All space exploration is just another excuse to extract.

No one left to clear the table.

I washed the clean napkins anyway, just to feel the blue of dawn.



Amanda Maret Scharf & Hannah Smith are co-authors of the chapbooks, Astral Gaze (Dancing Girl Press, forthcoming) and Metal House of Cards (Finishing Line Press). They began collaborating during a midwestern power outage in July 2022. Their poetry has been published in The Shore, Bear Review, The Dodge, SWWIM Every Day, and Hooligan.


Next Up: Swamp Magic by Makayla Terrell