I wanted to write a love poem
the most impossible thing

and I did
and it wasn’t hard

and afterward I took a walk
and nothing seemed hard.

The moon was a thing
I cared less about

which seemed to have something to do
with getting older

but then I thought no

I am young
in my love
for the moon

and it made me laugh
and someone stared

from their car.

I wanted to stay
in the thought

then agony
to see it
go

oh

I felt
funerals
for a second ago

I loved everyone
I ever
loved

and this moment

moon
on my shoulder

I loved this moment the most.

I wanted to stay
on the shivering

plate

crowned
with my own desire

I wanted the impossible
of course I did.

I am young I am young

in my love
for the moon.

 

 

 

***

Leopoldine Core was born and raised in New York’s East Village and graduated from Hunter College. She is the author of the poetry collection Veronica Bench and the story collection When Watched, which was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Her fiction and poetry have appeared or are forthcoming in Joyland, Open City, PEN America, Apology Magazine and The Best American Short Stories, among others. She is the recipient of a Whiting Award for fiction, as well as fellowships from The Center for Fiction and The Fine Arts Work Center. She lives in New York.