POETRY
I, Luminescence
by Avra Margariti in Issue Ten, August 2023
α) Radiation (This Place is a Message)
What am I but an emanation
Of energy better left
Undisturbed, a ruined
Palace calling out to you
In forbidden whispers
Of far-future runes?
β) Bioluminescence, Beloved
In the bathypelagic zone
You find me through subaqueous
Scrying mirrors, the lantern of my antenna—
Lifeforce light—reflecting off
Your diver’s suit, my villiform teeth.
I won’t bite, I lie. But what I mean is:
I need to know you’re real,
A recollection of flesh cradled
Between brittle enamel.
γ) Big Bang/Chicxulub Impactor
In the beginning, we were
The Pillars of Creation, a mythopoetic
Eagle cawing our nebular
Parthenogenesis. In the beginning,
Complementary colors, charged electrons,
We melded into a mecha of
Smoldering essence. The gods
Had to separate us by black-static
Lightning lest we one day
Overthrew them off celestial
Thrones.
δ) White, Wavelength
You would not believe
The luminous creatures
We’ve been since.
© 2023 Avra Margariti
Avra Margariti
Avra Margariti is a queer author, Greek sea monster, and Rhysling-nominated poet with a fondness for the dark and the darling. Avra’s work haunts publications such as Strange Horizons, The Deadlands, F&SF, Podcastle, Asimov's, Vastarien, and Reckoning. The Saint of Witches, Avra’s debut collection of horror poetry, is available from Weasel Press. You can find Avra on twitter (@avramargariti).