Poem of the Week: “Stargazing for Feminists” by Jean Bleakney

Stargazing for Feminists

Well proud of the horizon,
undressed to kill, the both of them
—full moon all bosomy white
and Venus, faceted and glittery,
as bold as you like;
admiring one another
as well they might
and amplified because of it.

Between, caught up in the cross-talk,
Orion: Mighty Hunter, skirt-chaser,
tormentor of the Pleiades
—but not such a big lad tonight.
As body outlines go
he’s a bit splayed out,
a bit of a John Doe,
now that the girls are back in town.

–Jean Bleakney, from The New North (2008)