Dead Planet VLVII

Dead Planet XLVII

“it was the first of
Satsuki—the time-
traveling month”
—Basho, Narrow Road
to Triton Interior

in summer triton—
frozen methane waterfalls
begins long journey

a zeit zipper lock—
i couldn’t open it right
all the falling stars

even titan trolls—
leave it alone this fissure
splitting the known worlds

android boy pauses—
looks across neptune’s plains
feeling nothing new

scifaiku silence—
waiting for it to emerge
from the moon shadow

edo’s beginnings—
tokugawa shogunate
young handsome warlords

after victory—
the battle of saturn’s rings
solar daimyo reigns

the title shogun=
consolidated control
alliance system

power base strengthened—
mollifying one's rivals
triton stealth stronghold

tokugawa fleets—
solar system bakufu
space bureaucracy

feudal hierarchy—
fadai “house daimyo” droids
imperial bots

triton troops allowed—
but no galaxy-going ships
one castle per sun

closed planet edict—
interstellar trade outlawed
dejima only

earthboy-childhood’s end—
deep in the planet’s dark heart
exile-planning droids

almost no one sees—
nagasaki bloom thru time
it takes third eye sight

sword, ship, laser gun—
all proudly displayed
when boyhood’s end comes