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.
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.
