Jessica Kim: sky trip in silhouette
Photo: Joanna C. Valente
sky trip in silhouette
here is the allegory / that percolates / into flesh /
dripping in mist / & dusk precipitates / a body
drowns / in the lake / repeat / tell me how / we
were abandoned / in another / lifetime / i could
traverse / around / prairie dreams / wildish &
the moon / on her palanquin / the stallions /
galloping backwards / towards / the in-betweens /
look / at the weeds coil / around my ankles /
look / i am nothing / more / than starless nights /
look at the story strapped / in the backseat / of the
Honda Odyssey / i am / not there yet / still stuck in /
black and white / & i forget / what asphalt feels
like / on backbone / telephone poles / still extend /
into endings & the hurricane / still whirls / in
my eyes / tell me it is tranquil / there / in this
summer / solstice / the memories turn stale / like
the box of / peppermints / on the leftmost /
column of / your teeth factory / childhood
dreams / & imagine how / the body exits
the highway / unnoticed / the rain berates /
the tarmac / the tire / explodes into the
milky way / galaxy / starlight is too / bright
for / my eyes / faded / & i remember the story /
where i / was an angel / in the cracks / of
moonlight /and there was snow in / april / &
blossoms / fell into the margins / of star-crossed
lovers / the story / where the body / is saved /
on horseback / twice / & there were passenger
pigeons / in the cusps / of dawn / & i was smiling /
at the bleached crescent / thinking of / how
everything had / an answer / without questioning /
as if it was / all transfixed / into time / unbridled.
Jessica Kim is a disabled poet from California. A two-time 2021 Pushcart nominee, her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Wildness Journal, Cosmonauts Avenue, Grain Magazine, Longleaf Review, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, and more. She is the founding editor of The Lumiere Review. Find her at www.jessicakimwrites.weebly.com and @jessiicable on twitter and instagram.
