Moon Face Back Poem by Kelly Vinal

The looking down upon,
Through wisps of cloud and contrail,
Column dust and blizzard snow,
Factory plume and bomb smoke -

We barely spoke
Before the border, no
Negotiation tactic, no
Diplomatic maneuver -

Though a gem is beautiful,
Like you,
Someone will purify it -
Shine a light through it -
Make a weapon of it -
And transform you from a gentle prophet
To a killing machine -

There’s a lunar surface rarely seen -
There’s a face on it -
Maybe God’s,
Maybe Indifference -
Favoring a known darkness

Away from us.