Kathleen S. Burgess
On Mars
Alien, and lonely in this cold, distant world, I’m blue
while the crimson sun of desire slumps over a Midwest
harvest of sere spines and ears of corn, skeletal soybeans
leaving behind dry stubs, churned clouds of exhaustion.
Blue as a mourning dove’s mating call. As Son House
pounding his slide guitar, preaching the blues.
As Lady Day’s trodden-flat melody, as strange fruits.
I remember the heavenly blue morning glory, cornflower,
love-in-a-mist. Ulysses and blue moon butterflies.
Blueberry, blackberry, plum. Love’s invisible bruises.
Blue as children’s lips, black raspberry-licksicled tongues.
Curious blues, crayons to ink. Older, we dropped blue
jeans and shirts to the barn floor. Clung together under
blue stars. Wild kisses. Something old. Something blue.
Some might say blue as summer skies bright blue for days,
for miles. But lapis-blue haloes a small blush sun sinking,
then gone. O blues! Can I live another bleak, black
Martian night, so far from home, so far, my love, from you,
my North Star, your shaft of light inscribed in my bones.
_______________
Kathleen S. Burgess has won national and state poetry prizes, and received four Pushcart and two Best of the Net nominations, one from Abyss & Apex in 2019. What Burden Do Those Trains Bear Away (Bottom Dog Press) is her poetry memoir of a year hitchhiking 11,000 miles to and through South America. She is also the author of The Wonder Cupboard (NightBallet Press), two other collections, and editor of the anthology Reeds and Rushes—Pitch, Buzz, and Hum (Pudding House). A sought-after reader and judge for poetry contests, Burgess is widely published and has been a fan of fantasy, speculative and science fiction since she was old enough to enjoy the frisson of fear at warnings for our future, according to scientists, writers, movie makers, and her imagination.
Backstory: (forthcoming)
Editor’s Notes/Image Citation: Image of sunset over Gusev crater on Mars (2005). The blue is a result of absorption of red light by the rust-colored surface particles leaving bluish tint (there’s no Rayleigh scattering (usually by water vapor) as on Earth otherwise some of the blue would be suppressed). https://science.nasa.gov/resource/sunset-at-mars-gusev-crater-spirit/
