Hermanas de Andrómeda (Sisters of Andromeda)

by Angel Leal

to Angela Acosta

         you who travel the cosmos 
& attend quinceañeras in the stars.

         you who carry Spanish aboard every ship
& protect her from annihilation.

         thank you, hermana. you’ve helped me 
look up again. I who feared

         the unknown, whose dreams
tend to stay on land

         feel inspired to join you.
to let my body fall without 

         gravity, without shame
past that scream of stars

         & into a new hemisphere 
of impossible

         freedom. there, by Andrómeda,
will I spin my dark dress 

         y bailar sin miedo. & if it 
takes time for my ship to arrive

         even a lifetime, I will still practice 
the steps on land.

         I will memorize star charts 
hidden in your poems

         & somehow find the cosmic
in my mother’s hands

         in a meal, 
in a distant memory 

Angel Leal is a Latine, transfemme, ace writer whose previous work appears in Strange Horizons, Heartlines Spec, Apparition Lit, Radon Journal, and elsewhere. They’ve been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, the Rhysling, Best of the Net, and are a coadmin of CALAMITOUS, a queer SFFH writing group. You can find them looking up at the stars at angel-leal.com or floating around Bluesky @angelvleal.bsky.social