issue five / mosaic
Escape Velocity
Natasha Bredle
in space
the hoop is harder
to jump through
gravity
is an iron chain tugging you
to the next great body
there is war without
sound / there is blood without
direction
in space there is no jury
darkness obscures the judge’s face
and the burden of proof is on you
where is your rocket?
where is your home here?
or are you
another wandering thing
out after dusk
another face pasted on
a poster / another
shame / basket case
testing textbooks strategies
unaware
you’ve lost already
while the stars just laugh
comets spite your false strength
and black holes place their bets
on how long you will delay your surrender
speak up / revolutionary
ride to the boundary of the universe to find
the nothingness there
taste it
consume it
see how it feels
then wake up
space will wait for you
watch as you
reach for another one
no makeshift dramatization
only the quaint matter of it
quiet on the palm
slippery in the throat
the haze of it / the upward fling
the take off / the final fall
the final fall with all its peaceful
naivete
the hoop is harder
to jump through
gravity
is an iron chain tugging you
to the next great body
there is war without
sound / there is blood without
direction
in space there is no jury
darkness obscures the judge’s face
and the burden of proof is on you
where is your rocket?
where is your home here?
or are you
another wandering thing
out after dusk
another face pasted on
a poster / another
shame / basket case
testing textbooks strategies
unaware
you’ve lost already
while the stars just laugh
comets spite your false strength
and black holes place their bets
on how long you will delay your surrender
speak up / revolutionary
ride to the boundary of the universe to find
the nothingness there
taste it
consume it
see how it feels
then wake up
space will wait for you
watch as you
reach for another one
no makeshift dramatization
only the quaint matter of it
quiet on the palm
slippery in the throat
the haze of it / the upward fling
the take off / the final fall
the final fall with all its peaceful
naivete
Natasha Bredle is a scholar and writer based in Cincinnati. Her work has been featured in publications such as Words and Whispers, The Lumiere Review, and Basilisk Tree. She has received accolades from the Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards as well as the Adroit Prizes. In addition to poetry and short fiction, she has a passion for longer works and is currently drafting a young adult novel.