F.J. Bergmann

Mutiny

The field surrounded us, an envelope
of frictionless force. Its conic tip glowed orange.
Beyond the reach of any telescope
in the first femtosecond, we’d sizzle and singe
our way out from the galaxy. An eyelash
swimming on a black pond, an invisible wire
of energy, we moved. The captain’s mustache
was much admired, as was the radiant fire
in his dark eyes. But others, underhand,
felt slighted.… As if no one else might render
our swift course or recognize the ampersand
constellation we made for—or tender
a counteroffer to the photogenic,
clustered aliens (think blue pomegranate).



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F.J. Bergmann edits poetry at Star*Line, the journal of the Science Fiction Poetry Association (sfpoetry.com) and Mobius: The Journal of Social Change (mobiusmagazine.com), and documents tragedies on exoplanets and elsewhere.