XVIII

I was wearing a green dress.
I was wearing a green dress and I was running
across the lilting boat deck
For what reason, I still do not know.
I heard shouts and cries and prayers inside my head
that echoed back for miles and miles;
Dear God, let this be a dream
Dear God, let us live
Dear God
where are you now?

The sky was dark and the air was cold
And for a fleeting moment I wished for a fur stole
and diamonds
before I realized that I might sink
from the solid weight of those priceless commodities.

I was wearing a green dress and I was running
Twirling in circles as if in a daze
Searching for someone- anyone
But no one was there. They were all gone.

I was all but gone.

Though I let a lifeboat cradle me safely away
I couldn’t bear the shouts and cries and prayers
that echoed

echoed