SPARK

“Blue Ridge” by Lauren Flax (Inspiration Piece)

“Transcontinentalism”
by Gabriel Shanks (Response Piece)

Weeks into our last war,
on a redeye to London.
Dawn, the ocean and sky.
Clouds shaped like bruises.

Ireland below,
my lips moved, excusing everything,
already past the speed of sound.

I mouthed to the sky
that I’d betrayed you,
and what did you expect,
and when it mattered
I never lied.

I listened for your rage,
but you were back in Manhattan.
Just me and the airstream,
my tropospheric bile.

The currents don’t care
if we split or stick,
The horizon is unmoved.

So it’s up to me
to protect you from us,
leaving ozone untouched.