LAURIE HELLER

FINDING CROSSIE

A galaxy materialized onto the film

pinpricks of light like scattered stars

instead of Venus or Jupiter, a mass

A galaxy materialized onto film

A night sky

clusters of calcifications

in place of Venus or Jupiter, a mass

The doctors polished voice

sums up my options:

best to take them both off, she says,

safest

Walking home my mind oscillates

an on-off switch chanting

a binary message

Live, die

live, die...

its toggling

jamming my mind

On the crosswalk signal

I see a small figure

made of radiant dots

beckoning me forward

his body pulsing a message

each blink a word

Follow me,

cross the street,

keep going

The rhythm of his blinking body

beating with my heart-

you don’t need to look at him

to understand his song

His song that says

GO

and then

keep going