Portside

Lost in Space

By Leah Mueller

           (for Jeff)

 In space, no one

can hear you ask,

“Do you have

a Prime account?”

at Whole Foods.

Nor can they offer

free shipping with

a thirty-day trial membership.

The Washington Post,

with its endless chatter

of neoliberal propaganda,

fades into distant memory.

Just you, with your

fishbowl helmet, framing

your baldness

like a translucent crown.

Fly into the outer reaches

of the galaxy, colonize Mars

into an enormous warehouse.

No one will clock in

late for their graveyard shift.

You won’t need

to count the days

before your dividends

arrive: that final billion

dollar deposit, until

you explode into

a magnificent supernova,

molecules scattering

their alms to a plundered

and impoverished cosmos.

Somewhere, a woman

orders underwear

from a small online company.

Somewhere, a programmer

finds discount software

at the last Radio Shack.

You are oblivious space dust,

particles floating like

dollar bills through the galaxies,

one for each remaining star.

Leah Mueller is an indie writer and spoken word performer from Bisbee, Arizona.  Her most recent books, "Misguided Behavior, Tales of Poor Life Choices" (Czykmate Press), "Death and Heartbreak" (Weasel Press), and "Cocktails at Denny's" (Alien Buddha) were released in 2019. Her new chapbook, "Land of Eternal Thirst" will be published in summer, 2021. Leah’s work appears in Rattle, Midway Journal, Citron Review, The Spectacle, Miracle Monocle, Outlook Springs, Atticus Review, Your Impossible Voice, and elsewhere. Visit her website at www.leahmueller.org.