I Hung Myself on the Moon: Poems (PB) (2015)

This inaugural collection of contemporary poems frames the human experience in 30 lyrical and diverse poems about life. Getahun's voice sings with a hint of sadness, a heart full of passion and longing for home--the home we desire in a partner, in a country, and even within the streets we walk every day. With a rhythm and motion often heard through spoken word, these poems propel the reader forward through love, heartache, and self-discovery, as we recognize in ourselves "a homeless moon orbiting its haloed dissent."

Having walked in the room, you are confronted by a surprise that sparks anxiety at the mere presence of another, and you begin to appraise the moment. You say this is always how it was going to happen to me. A long day of busing tables, followed by song of hard days' work only to be enamored by a muse. Suddenly a strong confidence arises. Something like destiny. "I am supposed to meet this person here" and now I will only speak in my highest esteem. From the beginning to end it is filled with error, but there is nothing that will stop the possibility being explored. Discourse, poetry and desire fill the night and the months to come.

You see there are manners by which to engage a muse and I was determined to learn them. Thus I hung myself from the moon while courting the muse.