Europa – a poem by Merril D. Smith

Europa

Europa spews water in prismed plumes
erupting into space.

Moon goddess, icy-faced,
she circles her bull-god, the abducting lover.

He is drawn to her, iron to her magnet,
but she keeps her distance in this ancient contrapuntal dance.

Our past, our future,
she whispers
 
in shadows and light
in language with the smooth smell of ever-

never and if—
just beyond understanding

she aches music,
dripping harmony into diamond showers

while we dream
of floating in a cerulean sea,

the whisper in its slipstream–
our past, our future.

*“Icy Moon of Jupiter Spews Water into Space”
Morning Edition, NPR, May 14, 2018

Merril D. Smith is an independent scholar with a Ph.D. in American History and numerous books on history and gender issues. Her poetry and stories have appeared recently in Rhythm & Bones, Vita Brevis, Streetlight Press, Ghost City, Twist in Time, and Mojave Heart Review. Her blog is at merrildsmith.com.