I dreamed of being a fisherwoman of casting deep nets like spells
pulling up condensations of blue at swim team my flip turns were fastest
always forgetting to breathe first after practice I’d pull off my cap and sink
grew out my hair long for this moment only for the fanning out
in dreams I’d breast stroke across the channel in a cage
sometimes I was a shark eventually reaching land
becoming sea foam always afraid of missing out on something bluer
there are whole nights I spend in the tub
gestating in a porcelain whale’s womb it doesn’t matter
what holds the water as long as the water holds me
I extend this allowance to velvet to lapis
and to my own blood which fills my skin just right
a red tide perfectly timed the best I can do
Ariel Kusby is a writer and bookseller based in Portland, Oregon. She currently works in the Rose and Orange rooms at Powell’s City of Books, where she pays special attention to children’s books about witches, odd cookbooks, and gnome gardening guides. You can check out her writing at www.arielkusby.com.