after “Interstellar” (2014)
the shining seas
have been absent seven years
lost to us all
theres finally enough corn for everyone again
but the drones are still roaming
& the clouds of dust rolling after them
the horses are gone of course
the clydesdales the last to fork off
& wither away into the distance
in the last few decades
the moon has drifted into the background
become flat & mysterious once again
but the sky that was once so magical has betrayed us to the dirt
& the dirt left us in our time of need
with soot spread across our faces
so we curse the sky
curse the rains
curse the salt beneath our feet
no one alive has ever heard the blue danube
but the earth still keeps spinning
throwing up new hills where valleys and cities used to be
so we continue
alone in our strange galaxy
only the embers in the distance
lighting our way
sterling-elizabeth arcadia (she/they) is a trans poet and diy tattooer in washington dc, where she watches birds and cares for her cats. she is currently working on a chapbook of queer ekphrastic love poems based on her friends’ instagram posts. her work has been published in Stone of Madness Press and Fuck Your Dreams Zine, and is forthcoming elsewhere.