The Wardrobe’s Best Dressed: Now in Color by Jacqueline Balderrama

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Water Theory

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If the moon’s surface was composed of waves
the way da Vinci thought, moon ocean
reflecting the sun and our dark seas’ faint glow,

borders might be understood in temperatures, or currents,
or light—fish sustaining themselves in the cold rock,
the warped water, our planet at arm’s length like a hot pearl.

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During red tide, the waves
bring jellyfish you don’t see until you do.
A lifeguard washes stings with a spray bottle of vinegar.

On Cornish beaches, reports say Legos
have washed up since 1997 when a shipment was lost.
Occasionally, a sea monster arrives—
a thirteen-foot oarfish, a log covered in goose barnacles.

                              ✶

Third graders learn about the universal solvent.
But there are always exceptions:
during the density experiment—in water,
oil and honey divide into colored rings.

In the Great Salt Lake, some tourists in their hats
bob like corks all day, all day in the green water.

                        ✶

Monet’s bridge over the lily pond
is a dark curve in reflection. In Impression, Sunrise,
his bay dashes blue and orange on a wash of faded violet.
Nothing concludes in the current—
through and through—

Have you seen the video of the zebra
attacked by the lion? The lion clamps on the zebra’s neck,
but the zebra lowers her further into water.
Out of breath, the lion must let go.

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