This poem was written to celebrate Augur Magazine reaching their 200th backer on their Kickstarter. Yay! If you’d like to back them, click here. Even if you can’t, please share the Kickstarter wherever you can. And no matter what, enjoy this promised poem about space cake.

Happy Birthday to Me

by H. E. Casson
(CW: Food, family separation)

Dear mom,
From here in space
I think of you
While eating cake

Another thought
It made me stop

Is that I’ll never lick the blades

You know –
From when you beat the eggs
And sugar
Flour, butter, cream
And then you’d scream
“Turn that thing off
And get this treat!”

(There always was a thing –
A TV
Game
Computer screen)

Off it’d go
And you would show me 
How to lick 
Between the blades
Until we’d made
A mess of us

I’ll tell you

Cake in outer space
Is soft and moist
To keep its shape
It floats and clings
The crew all sings
From pouches
Happy birthday squeezed

And I am seized
By memories of you
And how I’ll never lick the blades
Created by a cake you’ve made

I traded cake for
Outer space

And outer space is bigger than
The memories we make

Than the smell of chocolate cake

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