The Space Cadet Science Fiction Review, Spring 2022 (issue #1)

Table of Contents [live links | click icon to toggle]

Pg. 45


Poetry by Jill Trade & Joshua St. Claire


One Last Perfect Night

closing eyes to kiss
all of Earth’s breath becoming
a gentle spring rain

lubricating the hinges
to keep his lips from rusting

vacuum energy
silent snap of the airlock
while leaving the craft

sweeping all of the space junk
under the magic carpet

dark side of the moon
what we refuse to see when
we refuse to look

vulnerably blindfolded
every touch and sound heightened

anticipation
the tractor beam’s pull slowly
lifts me off the ground

gravitational constant
you and me everywhere

supervolcano
blanketing Mercury with
steely lava flows

AI program convincing
its coders that it can’t think

false data prints out
moon rover intercepted
mission compromised

hibernating colonists
one wakes centuries too soon

need to find the seeds
this dehydrated ice cream
won’t last forever

crimson Sol huge overhead
farmers sow wheat on Titan

flares signaling life
on the red hypergiant
songs from plasma throats

the illusion of distance
traveling through the wormhole

the East Wind quiet
cherry blossom holograms
blooming every day

raking digital petals
into my recycle bin

quantum coherence
the scientists beginning
to download her brain

malware infects emotions
learning to love all the hate

the swoop of an owl
the tentacled diplomats
of Canopus III

the prey turns on each other
predators watch them scramble

three-body problem
the only solution is
a cataclysm

choreographed orbiting
shadows waltzing together

almost lifelike skin
eager smiles and low moans at
the lovebot’s firm touch

synapses on high alert
sparks fly on all cylinders

unseen travelers
the away team bringing back
mind-control microbes

countless zombified beings
mindlessly marching along

Phobos shattering
into myriad dust motes
Mars—the ringed beauty

angels singing a hymnal
galactic radio noise

fetuses in jars
lining the walls as they chant
wolves in sheep’s clothing

Reticulans confused at
the Terrans’ dearth of genders

fluid momentum
being pulled by the jet stream
in all directions

the perfect precognition
of deep space navigators

Aquarius sends
cherry blossom bouquets to
Cassiopeia

one last perfect night on Earth
future Venusians hand in hand

Jill Trade & Joshua St. Claire

This dynamic poetry-writing duo is fast becoming a literary force to be reckoned with, both individually and in tandem. See their respective author bios.