​Self-Portrait as Ladder to the Moon, by Brittany Deininger

Ladder to the Moon, by Georgia O'Keeffe (USA) 1958

​Self-Portrait as Ladder to the Moon 
 
Waxing and halved like a bit fruit, O’Keeffe 
is going to the moon. She makes herself into a ladder, 
 
to ascend and descend. Once, maybe twice, you see it.
Those seraphs on every rung. Hunger sets in
 
for that kind of knowledge. Before man’s landing, 
she’s meeting her shadow, desert on a palette knife.  
 
I dreamt I went into labour on a ladder.
From a bloody love-push came one giant seed.
 
In the half-conscious hours, I see myself 
reflected in Georgia’s self-portrait. Two women,
 
pick and rigging bent against a mountain, 
refusing to be haunted by what we don’t know. 

Brittany Deininger

Brittany Deininger, is a poet and educator. Art and dreams are her dipping cup into the unconscious where the good stuff speaks in images. She received an MFA in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College and an MA from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. Her work has appeared in On Being, EcoTheo Review and elsewhere. She lives in New York.