Mud Stunning
My first coastline, composed
of fearsome weather.
We were available
and reassured.
We decided to squander
and shuttle. Idyllic hours.
We strolled among dunes,
above the crashing.
We woke to gentle comfort,
then set out along the beach.
The possible stretches,
long and dense.
Since those days, the shifting
tides. We reached the waves
and the waves intensified.
The weather worsened,
the worst yet to come.
We faced an endless
existential why. An inevitable
struggle, a destination
we took off to. Up and down,
string and safety, we tried.
We found a path, a puzzle deep
and wide and trickier than we expected.
The world turned half better,
as we marveled at the rain.
Two Moons
Don’t make close comparisons.
Those two moons have a fixation.
They echo one another, incantatory.
We learn and we learn. We learn
and we learn that the second moon
is mostly a centerpiece—large and fearsome—
but has powers that keep the world afloat.
Some cosmic balance in this magnitude.
Notes:
“Mud Stunning” is an erasure poem using the following source text: “Mud, Leeches and Stunning Beauty in Tasmania,”Alex Hutchinson, The New York Times, TRAVEL, January 25, 2013.
“Two Moons” is an erasure from the following source text: “A Tokyo With Two Moons and Many More Puzzles” by Janet Maslin, The New York Times, BOOKS, November 9, 2011.
Jessica Piazza authored two poetry collections from Red Hen Press, Obliterations (co-written with Heather Aimee O’Neill) and Interrobang, and the chapbook This is not a sky (Black Lawrence Press). She curates the Poetry Has Value blog, which explores questions of poetry, money, and worth. Learn more at www.jessicapiazza.com and www.poetryhasvalue.com.