BY JOSEPHINE PINO

Marvelous Things

Most things are impossible

to reproduce in perpetuity

though we believe we can, like

protein rations, oxygen capsules

and rad-protectors on every home.

And, what of a

perfection in landing

shuttles? Are any two

touch downs really the same?

Traffic control and electronics

wing spans and targets,

thermoclines and dust

and the weight distribution

over the width of the cabin -

These things cannot be

the same more than once.

And the little girl in 39A

peers through the

porthole at the colony lights

and the station gets bigger

and bigger as the pilot lowers

the landing gear. That structure

is not the same, and the thud

of the gear touching down

feels unique to the child wishing

she could feel it again because

it really was a marvelous thing.

For Powdered Coating Take Exit 16

Four lanes existed

then

before the storms

made crumbs of two

We roll westward

watching for the sheen

of the Pacific to

come into view.

Fallen buildings and barns

rush by in a blur

behind faded billboards

hocking their wares:

Oats and corn.

Welding and molding.

A smaller sign sells

powdered coating

which makes me

think of fresh

January snow,

baby bottoms,

grandma’s vanity

and those plump

little donuts in a

cardboard box

Josephine Pino was a child in Albuquerque, a young adult in many places, and currently resides in Oregon. She is a scientist by diploma, educator by heart, and writer by nature. She has published in Cathexis NW, High Shelf Press, Tiny Seed Literary Journal, Anti-Languorous Project, and Raw Art Review.