When the alien descends from outer space,
after we marvel at its ride,
what will we offer?
Einstein, Mozart, Shakespeare, Buddha?
Trinkets of gold and diamonds?
A virgin on a stone altar?
A handshake with our robot,
a missile, or a glass of water?
Will we ask, do you know Yahweh
or are you your own God?
Do you have children
and put them to bed with stories
from the past? Does our sun
shine a dim star in your night?
I’m asking now, for unless
it happens soon, I won’t be here
if it ever happens.
We might go blood mad in the streets
or tear at our own skins under
the shelter of home.
Do you know fear?
Have you met us before
and are there others?
Would we applaud the alien
and admit our childhood traumas.
Could we even just weep
in our neighbor’s arms?
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Guy Reed won the 2022 Littoral Press poetry prize and is author of Second Innocence (Luchador Press), The Effort To Hold Light(Finishing Line Press), and co-author, with Cheryl A. Rice, of Until The Words Came (Post Traumatic Press). His poems and essays have been published in journals both online and in print. He’s a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. From Minnesota, Guy now resides in the Catskills Mountains. <guyedwinreed.com>
Lightwood 