dream craters in five acts

dream craters in five acts Seth Leeper (bio) i. there's a crater on this star and my father is busyfilling it with hydrogen, he is meticulous, franticabout this work, doesn't look up or stop for chitchat, he shovels and shovels and he's rewardedwith gurgles of a thirsty ball of light, then looksalarmed when the process reverses, and out ofthe hole sprays blood, dousing him in red ii. cut to my father kneeling to my side as a child,to place a bandaid over a chest wound i earnedtoppling the king of the hill from the dirt moundin the street, there is too much blood for onebandaid to contain, so he cups a hand over it iii. there's a crater on this moon and my father is miningfor precious particles and dust to take back with him,behind the veil he zips and unzips knowing i can'tfollow, yet i will stay posted here because i can't leaveuntil i see him take another axe strike to moon matter iv. his other hand searches for cotton balls and the boxof batman bandages, and before i lose consciousness,my father catches a glimpse of searchlights from thechurch down the block, tells me not to fall asleep yet,the city is calling v. i can't ask him why he's so enwrapped with mattersof this moon, so it's one more strike on a punchcardof mysteries he handed me on his way out of earth,into the dream realm where he continues a questi can track, but not follow [End Page 117] Seth Leeper Seth Leeper is a queer poet. His work has, or will appear, in Poet Lore, Prairie Schooner, Sycamore Review, River Styx, The Journal, and Salamander, among other journals. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, where he teaches virtual and drop-in workshops for Brooklyn Poets.