In the Dream
A poem by Felicia McCarthy

In the Dream

I am dropping an anchor
in the water, into the ocean.

The boat is made of paper
and it is disintegrating

reforming itself to the
original wood from a tree

in a forest I brought with me.
I am footsore from running in place.

I layer paper in stacks, create what
is not there, until planks in place

I am tall, sure-footed. The bloody
Ancient Mariner stands at port bow

in a lavender dusk whining remorse as the wife
of Captain Cook leans starboard, map-handed.

Today the posh life ended for the West in the
slow dying voice of George Floyd. This boat

boat drifts east, no land on the horizon. My
hand is on the tiller, I turn south, looking for light.

We build our lives on water where once
there was sand. The night is quiet and

dark, the waters lick the prow of the new built
boat. Above, SpaceX streaks up to the stars.

About the Author:

Felicia McCarthy is a poet living in Dublin, Ireland. Her poems and articles have appeared in print and online literary zines in Ireland, USA, UK and Mexico. She is a member of Irish PENN and a Creative Writing facilitator in Fingal and dlr.ie library systems. She holds an BA & MA from Trinity College Dublin and an MA in Women’s Studies from UCD, with a thesis on Eavan Boland. In 2020, she was The Blue Nib’s North American Time Poetry Editor. Salmon Poetry (Ennistymon, Co Clare) will publish her collection MY COUNTRY IS THE WHOLE WORLD in 2023.

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