Justin Carter

And Science is a turtle that says that its own shell encloses all things¹

Albanian scientists drink rye whiskey and claim the moon is not a moon anymore. We are circles of smoke in the eastern sky. Pluto is sad, still, which must be expected. Expect rows of dead corn, a researcher says. Dark spots on the sun’s surface. Broken glass in the ocean. A list of things discovered in the stomach of a bull shark: seventeen teeth, a package of AA batteries. A theory for the disappearance of stars: blood. A theory for the disappearance of self: blood. Teenagers in England drink cans of paint on porches and look through broken telescopes. Pluto slinks into corners. The sun has many bruises. A government study finds empty cigarette cartons floating in the space around our bodies.

1. From Charles Fort’s The Book of the Damned

Justin Carter is an MFA candidate at Bowling Green State University and co-editor of Banango Street. His work appears or is forthcoming in The Collagist, Hobart, Jellyfish, and Whiskey Island. He blogs sometimes at justinrcarter.tumblr.com.