Beautiful Sinbad
I am writing to you in 19 years and I am telling you I learned how to swim perfectly.
I am telling you that I can hold my breath underneath the thick coat of chlorine
without dreaming of your sea-monster-monologues coming to life.
You always said pools were haunted by a ghost of chlorine,
I am writing to ask if you are still haunted by the ghost of me.
I am writing to you in 19 years and I am telling you another story,
but in this story I am no longer a pirate with a chipped tooth
but a grown sailor
on the other side of the sea,
who is writing to ask if you have grown
out of me.
I am writing to tell you that I became an astronaut
and they sent me to Saturn
to count its rings.
I would pretend your moles
were constellations,
and I counted twelve of them.
I am writing to tell you I fell asleep
on The Saturn Space Ship,
and I dreamt of you and your moles.
I am writing to ask what planet you are on now,
so I can make sure there were really twelve.
I am writing to tell you that they let me make a movie.
I littered the script with all my comedy,
everyone laughed.
When we told jokes blindfolded,
I promised you I would only peek
to see if the others were laughing.
I am writing to tell you I lied,
and I am writing to ask if you laughed.
I am writing to you in 19 years to give you a list.
When we wrote lists we would sign them
Yours Truly.
This list is of all the names they have called me,
but these names are not like those names
that made my cheeks red and my nose runny,
these names are great white sharks of honesty.
I am writing to tell you they are calling me:
The Emperor of The Sea
Beautiful Sinbad
Purveyor of Space
Cosmic Columbus
Second Coming of Scorsese.
You may laugh and think I never stopped crying
about them calling me names,
but I am crying because they are calling me many names
but they are not calling me yours.
I am writing to ask if you are calling me yours.
I am writing so I can sign this and call myself
yours, truly.
I am writing to you in 19 years to say that everything happened,
that I was a mean dog looking, in one life,
and a seagull in the other, looking,
trout in hoisted beak, looking,
seamstress of dreams, looking,
the greatest woman alive, looking.
I travelled through everything that happened,
looking
for the place where you happened
and I grew weary
and sick
and blue
with grief.
I am only writing to ask
if you were looking too.


this is brilliant. wow.
The link between space and intimacy is such a beautiful idea I’ve not thought of you impress me each time you publish🫡🫡