The Porthole
lowering itself onto a nose
a star flattens out
becomes skin
and slips into the eye of an ancestor
then a tree, a tiger
a fish that shimmers as it crawls its way out
and up a tree
to grab a star
and pluck a blade of grass from its center
it withers immediately
it’s nighttime now
the moon moves us
a claw reaches out, down
one sharp talon to carve a birth mark
another to wipe a tear
look into the wound and see the imprint of a celestial body
pushing out salt water and tadpoles
swallow a tadpole
and feel it wrap around the gut
as it sinks in
just above the bellybutton
the tadpole is free and lives on a fingertip
it sleeps on a brow
and flattens wild hair
by morning it will have dried up
grind it into a fine powder
and mix it with the largest leaf
spread it over the void
let it take root
desert dusts are no harm to our home
a spot of land to balance the sea
step back but don’t leave yet
let’s listen to the distant grinding
a star flattens out
becomes skin
and slips into the eye of an ancestor
then a tree, a tiger
a fish that shimmers as it crawls its way out
and up a tree
to grab a star
and pluck a blade of grass from its center
it withers immediately
it’s nighttime now
the moon moves us
a claw reaches out, down
one sharp talon to carve a birth mark
another to wipe a tear
look into the wound and see the imprint of a celestial body
pushing out salt water and tadpoles
swallow a tadpole
and feel it wrap around the gut
as it sinks in
just above the bellybutton
the tadpole is free and lives on a fingertip
it sleeps on a brow
and flattens wild hair
by morning it will have dried up
grind it into a fine powder
and mix it with the largest leaf
spread it over the void
let it take root
desert dusts are no harm to our home
a spot of land to balance the sea
step back but don’t leave yet
let’s listen to the distant grinding
September 2025
Caridad Cole is a writer, filmmaker, and former future astronaut. In addition to receiving Pushcart Prize and BarBar nominations, her work has appeared in Coffin Bell Journal, Vocivia Magazine, An Anthology of Rural Stories by Writers of Color 2024 (EastOver Press), and elsewhere. In 2023, she founded the speculative literary and art magazine, Moonday Mag. She can also be found @astrocari on Instagram.
Art: Ellen June Wright, Diptych #1306, #1509, watercolor on paper