Dreamscape with Winter, Ghost
by Gabriela Igloria
In this one, the boy never dies.
Crouched in the snow, you almost mistake him for a deer.
& notice how the cold makes
everything feel more alive when you hold it.
Crouched in the snow, you almost mistake him for a deer.
At night, pulse electric, you anticipate the silence that follows.
Everything feels more alive when you hold it:
A boy, fourteen; a heart too fast for his chest.
At night, pulse electric, you anticipate the silence that follows.
For winter. For waking
the boy, fourteen—whose heart is too fast for his chest—
to check that he is still there.
For winter. For waking.
Another dream where the boy falls endlessly, endlessly.
To check that he is still there,
you reach for the nearest warm, beating thing.
Another dream where the boy falls endlessly (endlessly)
& notice how the cold makes
you reach for the nearest warm, beating thing.
In this one, the boy never dies.