The Second Moon

You may have

heard the Earth

got a 2nd moon,

33 feet in width,

for almost 60 days.

What you probably

didn’t know

was the blandness

of its name: 2024

PT5—

not exactly Luna 

in the night.

None of us

should blame it

for not wanting

to stick around, circle

the planet

in disgust, watching

the horrid events

until November

25th:

the shelling of

children

in tents, the wrath

of Hurricane

Helene, the men in

charge who said

that nothing’s wrong—

it’s simply just

the weather’s

temperamental;

and an oligarch’s

second coming , saying

he’s the light of the

world, building up the

borders

that from space

cannot be seen.

Or maybe it’s

merely

no one

wrote a poem

about its face,

proposed beneath

its shadow

to a belovѐd,

had a schoolyard

reverie

of stepping

on its surface,

like some kid

might

someday hence,

amid the

bouncing

bop

of humankind,

planting a starry

flag

forever frozen

in its wave, shooting

off its mouth

it's here to stay.

Andreas Gripp

January 22, 2025

RF Image