After the Last Spaceship

By Deborah P. Kolodji

28 August 2006

Twenty rotations

of this dusty planet—

no one's coming back

to this barren place.

A fixture on the corner

of an abandoned spaceport,

he has a hole in the left knee

of weatherproof pants.

Manet's ragpicker

embodied in shadowed eyes,

a walking stick in hand,

trash by his foot.

His overgrown beard

hides life sorrows

in the way of vagabonds

from inhabited spheres.

A dying world's value

borne in a shoulder sack

with no one else available

to shoulder the load.

Inspired by The Ragpicker by Edouard Manet, oil on canvas 1865, displayed in the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California

Deborah P. Kolodji works in information technology to fund her poetry obsessions. She is a member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association and the Haiku Society of America. She has published two chapbooks of science fiction poetry, Symphony of the Universe by Sam's Dot Publishing, and Red Planet Dust by Gromagon Press. You can see more of Deborah's work in our archives or on her website, or email her at dkolodji@aol.com.