Two Poems
by Donna Vorreyer
Space is Silent, but Fuck That
Ripley knew this, and it served her well. She knew the power
of a scream, unleashed her vitriol when the alien queen
threatened, strengthening her resolve to live.
In 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL was programmed to make
Dave feel less alone. But that all went wrong. Conversation
means nothing if the words are lies, sentience be damned.
In any space movie, when the astronauts leave the safety
of the ship to make repairs, the inevitable accidents—
snapping cables, buckling metal—are heard by the audience.
This is scientifically impossible. How much more terrifying
it would be to not hear it. To see a connection broken, a hull
breached without sound, the breakage hushed by the vacuum.
Much like silence after argument hurts more than
the yelling. How much better it is to hear the warning.
How much better to tell that bitch not to touch you.
Ode to Urban Legends, Willy Wonka, and Slumber Parties
Donna Vorreyer is the author of Unrivered (2025), To Everything There Is (2020), Every Love Story is an Apocalypse Story (2016) and A House of Many Windows (2013) from Sundress Publications. She hosts the reading series A Hundred Pitchers of Honey and is co-founder/editor of the journal Asterales: A Journal of Arts & Letters. She believes that pizza is the perfect food, especially when it’s topped with pepperoni.
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