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Families ~ by Peg Alford Pursell

by Guest Poet 1 December 2009 2 Comments
Martian moons, Deimos and Phobos, courtesy of NASA

"Martian moons, Deimos and Phobos, courtesy of NASA "

by Peg Alford Pursell

Even the stars collect in families.
No body is alone in space.
Astral pearls of light -
strings of sisters – glow,
Father the brilliant medallion
marks the mouth of a black hole,
A hydrogen web Mother spins
and weaves her nebulous net,
the Old red ancestors fade
but never defect:
Gravity.
We don’t have the same
laws or attraction,
other more subtle forces
constrain us
in these painful arrangements.
We scatter. Maintain
our distances,
pray to transcend night maps
we navigate.
We are separate constellations.
Unconnected dust
and intentions.

Previously published in the English Journal
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Peg Alford Pursell is an award-winning poet and fiction writer with an MFA in Creative Writing from the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers. She’s a writing instructor, and also co-produces “Drive-by Shorts,” a weekly spoken-word radio show of ultra-short fiction. Visit: www.northbaywriters.wordpress.com


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2 Comments »

  • Lucy SimpsonNo Gravatar said:

    Gorgeous poem! I think “Father the brilliant medallion” really got me I like the shift to the actual families – the human families in “We don’t have the same laws or attraction.” There is pain and constraint. Thanks for this.

    [Reply]

  • help lineNo Gravatar said:

    Beautiful words used here, i only write poetry for myself and friends but i love the way in which this is wrote.

    [Reply]

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