A near-earth asteroid, Eros is the fifth celestial body
to make contact with a man-made space vessel

433 ErosEros spins
     like an old
brown shoe,    a heart
                deflated,
a well-loved
            well-used
        catcher's mitt.

Perpetual
        tumbler
in one revolution
      trapping
    and casting away,
            she is

that shiny slice

            of metal tipped from a thumb, gripping
                        stadiums with a sun-burnt airborne spring
                                                            of possibility.

Copyright © 2010, Melissa Frederick

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/JHUAPL

Melissa Frederick teaches creative writing and literature in the MFA program at Rosemont College.  Her poetry and prose have appeared in numerous publications, including the Crab Orchard Review, DIAGRAM, The Cream City Review, Kalliope, and the Mid-American Review.  Her poetry chapbook, She, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2008.  She currently lives in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania with her husband, David, and son, Ian.