Eleven
beyond our
earth-
en shield
there is
space
nothing more
& so
I thought
I was
free
even if
it bothered
me, esp-
ecially, having
a lot of
airy things
standing
for real
in particular
the non-
internal
clearly
I was more
so, yes, it's
true—this
isn't
the Illiad
but a
tale of s-
carcity, w-
omen as prizes
& the pro-
per way
to rule—
stay in your
tent, rend
your clothes
& let death
do its work
never trade
a heart
in the under-
world
for a rug
up here
your grief
quiet &
steady
pressed by
unlivable
lives
no time
back on earth
Twelve
o tireless
com-
plainers
great embalmers
of Men
& Classics—
gnarrrrr!
well ok
let's remember
what you
once were
a student
enthused, scr-
ibbling
on the thought
of thought—
right?
real because
of cre-
ation
long before
any oran-
ge, bison-head-
ed creatures
began to eat,
shit, cry
or especially
drink
back on earth
Fifteen
what to do?
address a
future
you ne-
ver saw
coming?
ask some
deep
query?
maybe
not—be-
sides
why would
stick-eaters
actual-
ly need
intellect?
in Thy damp
in Thy steam
a vision
of an elk
its body
eaten
by ticks—
yes, & then
what?
dreams?
a proje-
ction? thirty
thousand
years
to inn-
ovate
a somewhat
shar-
per spear
back on earth
Nineteen
solidarity
as ex-
communication
a literal
flood
where all
Thy money
dis-
appears
into folders
& drivers
the ones
Thy own
of the people
yes they
make a show
of science
& sha-
re a few
interests
but it's
really a task
like it was
for Xrist:
no one trains
a baby
to be obsequ-
eous
rage, or
settle
back on earth
Twenty-Four
by ec-
onomy I
mean
not dying
what is
really wrong
w/ me, why
is there no
one to walk
me back?
Thy move
as all Rulers
do
beyond my
grasp
like a pilot
on a sinking
craft
well, in
my day
kids were born
had eyes
& in
particular
stomachs
their sun
came up
like a clock
& stories
were told
or inv-
ented
& maybe
that's all—
a way to
keep
'em quiet
back on earth
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Author Bio: Brent Cunningham is the author of two poetry collections and the chapbook The Sad Songs of Hell published by Ugly Duckling Presse in November 2017.