August 17, 2020
451: Dancing with Kiko on the Moon
August 17, 2020
451: Dancing with Kiko on the Moon
This week, we're featuring poems related to outer space. Stars. Planets. Even aliens. What can we discover about ourselves, when we consider the cosmos?
Dancing with Kiko on the Moon
by Rosebud Ben-Oni
On the far side we're kicking up tundra out of tú
& no one & no one
on earth can see
though they swear by
(-we) though do not sing to
moonwomen, sickle-hipped & shape
-shifting & very well maybe & most certainly do
their wishes bounce
& chase after & chew
our moondust
when we are carousing with stellar winds & moon-
gust
Oh moon we're over the you about you
Dear moon do you need a tundra to look after
tú dear familiar dear shipwrecker
salamander with wings of swallowtail
lucky charm fisher-
queen waterless & aloof
It's just us two & we are twisters
that don't leave the ground to [ ]
Welcome to our moonhaus
& we don't have to ghost
shout— we're all the worlds living between tú
which is why the moon
wears her sunglasses at night
where exploding stars fall
shock breakout bright
when kiko & I are kicking up
a tundra out of— tú
& summoning the sun & dew & oh
& howling until the wolves coo
until the cow jumps over [ ]
& we enchantress
shine our super red from giants blue
& dear nasa rogue
that's us collapsing
gravity so star power
we vogue
& oh meteorites & asteroids we set fire to
& make more than a planet out of
dear [ ]
& dear moon
do you need a
do you need a
she looks
after
the far side of
we are
all the dark side moonwalking after you
"Dancing with Kiko on the Moon," by Rosebud Ben-Oni, from TURN AROUND, BRXGHT XYXS by Rosebud Ben-Oni, copyright © 2019 Rosebud Ben-Oni. Used by permission of the poet.
