
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.
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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