Dear No. 24601
The future is an eye that I don’t dare look into
Last night I dreamed I was a ball of fire
and woke up on the wrong side of the room
this is a recurring dream
I share an apartment with my twin sister
Enclosed is a photo of us on a tandem bike
I forget which one I am
Sometimes I wake up believing I am her
she is me
and there is nothing about the day to indicate otherwise
Weeks stack up this way
As a girl I did not do well with other children
Unable to see the fun in games
which were only ever maddening
I paid close attention to the weather
delighting in hail and not much else
save a prized collection of Hummel figurines
derived from the pastoral sketches
of Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel
German Franciscan nun and talented artist
Her simple peaceful works
drew the enduring hatred of Hitler himself
You know Hummel translates as ‘bumblebee’ in German
and they say she was always ‘buzzing around’
What do you think do we grow into our names
or does kismet know a thing
One name can mean too much
the other not nearly enough
The details make a difference
like sitting on the white cushion
as opposed to the blue
white is pure of course
but my soul’s been in the bargain bin since Russia
and Lenin’s tomb
I had a moment there
among the balustrades
and once that moment had expired
it graduated
from a moment to a life
by Sophie Collins
from Poetry International, 2019