[Issue 2023.65]

‘All I Ever Wanted to Be’, Goran Lowie

Art © 2023 Sarah Salcedo

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A turkey vulture flew overhead and
made eye contact
I wondered what it would be like
to be among the turkey vultures
no person shall fly alone

I burst into tears
reminded of when all
I ever wanted to be
was a mermaid
among octopi

Some nights, I still dream:
lying in human arms
my hair dark as wet kelp
the weight of the sea
upon me

I’ll never forget the sound of me
entering the ocean at twelve years old
the terrific roaring as I reached for
my tail

I wonder if the sea still whispers my story
to the soil and the rocks and the gulls
of my silly, youthful longing
a leaf drifting to water
my dreams only darkening:

Overfishers, scuba divers, container ships
Garbage patches, waste dumpers,
no place for a mermaid.
no place for a little girl.

© 2023 Goran Lowie

[Issue 2023.65]

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