Poetry: Lost Satellite by Karlo Sevilla

Lost Satellite

Unmanned, unmoored,
and floating along 
a forgotten orbit
against its will of steel.
Alone in the cosmic cold, 
corroding in outer space.
Though now only accountable 
to itself and no one else,  
it has chosen to remain
true to its mission:
observe the majestic Earth; 
the entirety of her blue sphere.
 
This is how I am at times: 
Contemplating the vastness 
of our distance
and the planetary space 
you occupy outside 
and inside of me.
Only by inviolable
laws of physics 
do I keep moving,
but oh so slowly.
And it’s solely the heat 
of my heart that sustains me.
I’m perfectly okay
with its constant warmth,
but what do I do
with its longing?



Bio: Karlo Sevilla of Quezon City, Philippines is the author of the full-length poetry collection “Metro Manila Mammal” (Soma Publishing, 2018). Recognized among the Best of Kitaab 2018 and shortlisted for the Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition 2021, his poems appear in Philippines Graphic, Philippines Free Press, Fevers of the Mind, DIAGRAM, Black Bough Poetry, and elsewhere.