Erik Moyer

Moon Cycle

I’m pulling an all-nighter as I write this.
Not to write this. This is just a distraction.
A bland way to pass the time

as I reset my circadian rhythm.
See, I run on a 25-hour internal clock.
Every day, I go to bed one hour later

to wake up one hour later.
To be clear, I didn’t choose this.
I was #BornThisWay. As a consequence,

every half-moon or so, I need to reset
my clock, as it’s running slow.
In order to do so, after dinner,

I swallow a handful of Adderall
and feel like the Oracle of Death for 12 hours.
I like to call this feeling supernovaing.

Like a dying star. When you’re running
on empty, but your body is exploding
with energy. And it hurts,

but you’re a machine of success.
So I need something to pass the time
until I implode in T-Mobile 5 hours.

I wonder what I’ll be when I die.
I can only be one of two things:
a Jimmy Neutron star

or a Blackbeard hole.
You’d think you’d rather be a star
than a hole. But lo and be-hole,

the life of a star is dull,
but the life of a hole
is anything but empty. The holes

are the stars of the galaxy.
He’s so mysterious, all
the astronomers swoon.

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About the Author

Erik Moyer is a writer and data scientist living in Denton, Texas. He holds a PhD from the University of North Texas, an MFA from the University of California – Irvine, an MBA from Florida State University, and a BS from the University of Virginia. His work appears in The New York Times, Columbia Journal, Epiphany Magazine, Oxford Poetry, The Pinch, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. He can be found at erikjosephmoyer.com.