Corresponding with Stars
Kelli Russell Agodon
USA
I spoke with the solar system about the study-abroad
program for women who hear the world
in minor notes. I have an unbreakable attention span
and a longing for minor planets, like the friend
who made cauliflower soup and poured you
red wine in a paper cup when you were crying
after someone texted you a blurry photo
of the moon. And while you ran out of the cabin
to see it, all you saw were the small antlers
of a deer you named Closest Satellite. It’s hard
to understand why we’re on this planet sometimes—
this is why I’m requesting information from the stars
on an intergalactic possibility. I told them
how eager I would be to receive a B+
in astronomy, how I haven’t been sleeping well,
though am thankful for my electric blanket and lovers
who scratch my back and rub the inner part
of my wrist, a cosmos of tiny faint scars.
Kelli Russell Agodon is a Guest Contributor for Panorama