Epistle to the future

~ after “Viaje de Lady” (1950), Remedios Varo

Caballero, no matter how terrible
the world looks this morning,
I am certain we still have it in us
to leap as a whale does, clear
over the waves. I wear a mask
but only because of these eyebags—
I couldn’t fall asleep until the winds
died down; branches kept breaking off
to sound drumrolls on the roof. Remember
those stories where a boat has sprung
a leak and slowly begins to sink?
What happens when you stop trying
to keep the water out? You plant
both feet firmly over the gap.
You think about the little fish
that nibble delightfully around
your ankles, exfoliating everywhere
your own hands could never reach.
Even the most taxing trial must
come to an end sometime. Even
the dark grows tired of being
only dark. Look closer; you’ll see
flecks of beet red, blue, sepia;
the careful outlines drawn
around figures pressing through.

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