The Cormorant
Ellis Ludwig-Leone
Morning in your room again
Woken by the children
Playing on the playground
Golden light is streaming in
Floating dust above your bed
A tea cup by the bedside
Waking from a dream in which
Sleeping you are visited
By a great black cormorant
His wings are vast and open wide
Razor beak and diamond eyes
The bird begins to speak
In a voice both harsh and deep
Rising from an ancient sea
Caked in salt and fish scales
He says
“On this morning you will die
But before then you must try
To show me what you were
Tell me who to give your heart
Though it hurts to pull apart
And where to leave your body”
A pressure felt behind the head
Then you float up from your bed
You start to hear the voices