come fly with me he said
I thought he was joking

I sat in his car
he leant across
did up my belt
wound up the windows
and grinned at me
eyes glittering
his face took on a silver tinge
I thought
you fool

the car roared off
wheels barely touching the ground
I gripped the seat
trees houses flew past
a twilight blur
the road stretched out
an endless black ribbon
other cars
flashes of disappearing light

this won’t hurt a bit he said
my body shook
my heart thumped
blood drained from my head
skin stretched taut across my face
weightless
my bones melted
I opened my mouth
but in space
no one
can hear you
scream

the road became the infinite sky

floating out beyond the horsehead nebula

tumbling seahorse of fiery red

an infinity of life and death

protostar red giant white dwarf

nova supernova blue dwarf

glorious spinning neutron star echoing

black hole flaming comet pitted asteroid

and behind the gauzy veils of atmosphere

unseen worlds abundant life

he parked on the sea of serenity

apologizing for the litter left

by ancient tourists

he gave me his breath

so in the shadow of the stars
the dust of long dead planets
soft beneath our feet
his silver skin
no longer looked so strange
his elfin ears now perfect
to hear
the music of the spheres

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Image: Spinning neutron star

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©Catherine Meyrick.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Meyrick and https://catherinemeyrick.com/ with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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