POP!

Photo by emre ergen on Unsplash

A Poem by Courtney Moody

A man held a black balloon. The size of an apple

and attached to a string. A hurricane came

like a thief at midnight. Category five gusts

too strong for mortal knuckles.

And the balloon escaped—

past clouds

past ozone

past Orion’s bow

—and the balloon fed.

It refused defeat. It feasted on intentions

and consumed constellations. It grew beyond

the size of cantaloupes. Some reached

for its string long destroyed.

And the balloon filled on—

the breath of lies

the helium of lust

the oxygen of idolatry

—and the balloon became an eclipse.

Totality cannot live. The land cried for sunlight

and the sky for space. Each human a candle wick

begging for a light. Heaven looked to its maker

for the next instruction.

And then the balloon —

the pierce of three nails

the pierce of a thorn crown

the pierce of a cat whip

— a POP!

The Son refuses defeat. His “tetelestai!” call

shattered eardrums for eternity. Holy oxygen

purifies black lungs. Pink organs again inhaling

air made clean as spring lilies.

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Courtney Moody is a dancer, writer, and poet of faith. Her poetry publications include Ekstasis Magazine, Kelp Journal’s The Wave, and The Way Back to Ourselves literary journal, while her prose has been featured online at Bridge Eight and in Propertius Press' Draw Down the Moon. In 2022, her poem "Florida Anatomy" was awarded 2nd place for the Florida State Poet's Association Award. She is currently editing her debut novel while continuing to create poems and choreographic work before she melts at the hands of the sunshine state. She can be found on Twitter and Instagram @courtofwriting.