What the Moon Believes, by Kari Ann Ebert

Marquise Casati, photography by Man Ray (USA). 1922.

What the Moon Believes
 
Man Ray’s La Marquise Casati gazes
outward on the wall facing the windows
        she seeks the sea
insect eyes    double exposure
distinctions of eyelashes and pupils blurred
the pallor of her skin against the void behind
        so much like the moon
lost in its own push and pull
 
perhaps she wishes the ocean
would wash her    make her holy
ravish her until she’s no longer lonely
        or perhaps      
she wishes the earth would overwhelm her
drag her downward with its gravity
crush her until she’s no longer lonely
 
like the boy who sits on the shore
clutching a kitten     limp and lifeless
his hands tremble like water
        unaware of the cruelty
driven by his love for the soft sweet thing
​
Kari Ann Ebert

Kari Ann Ebert’s poetry has appeared in literary journals including cahoodaloodaling, The Broadkill Review and Gargoyle, as well as the anthology Aurora. She also writes short fiction and is currently editing her first novel. She was selected by Delaware Division of the Arts to attend the 2016 Seashore Writers Retreat and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2016. She lives in Delaware where she enjoys being a part of a vibrant tribe of writers. She has two grown children who write and are active in the dramatic arts.