Tuesday 17 April 2018


occultation

by Isabel del Rio


in 357 B.C.
Aristotle recorded the Moon covering

Mars,

a mere satellite
concealing the belligerent

planet,

showing off that it
can do so and get away with it:

“Why,

I can stand in the way and leave Mars
out of the picture!”

Satellite

where any mark blistering it
survives

forever

or at least for ten million years because there is no wind
and no motion, a cratered

landscape

almost perfectly preserved, as it was
when created 4.5 billion years ago, no

atmosphere,

no air, on this side crevices of
hardened magma, whereas the far side is a smoother, gentler

body,

unmoved by all the fuss we make about it, it hides half of itself
from view, as if inadmissible

evidence,

so conveniently close that we can explore it
and find it is nothing but a

relic,

but sufficiently far away that we can call it what we want
and it will remain, for our sake and in our defense, in total

silence


* * * * *

"occultation" is from Isabel del Rio's poetry collection The Moon at the End of my Street (published by Friends of Alice Publishing, 2016)

Isabel del Rio is a bilingual poet and writer living in London.  She has published fiction and poetry in both English and Spanish, and has worked extensively as a linguist and journalist.  Her writing has also appeared in anthologies and online magazines.  Her most recent published work of fiction is Zero Negative, a collection of short stories on the subject of bloodshed, and her latest poetry book is The moon at the end of my street.  Her forthcoming works are two collections of short stories and a novel.  She regularly takes part in readings and performance poetry events. Website:  www.isabeldelrio.com

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