RESTING SPACE

Carolle Bourne


Slip me into ice-blue
satin pajamas
and close the lid
Say I was wise
in the guise of
“little girl lost”
Call down the rain
and upon the earthy cover
let ferns flourish
On a smooth river-stone
Write, “She prevailed”

I am the athlete who
never ran the race
but got the gold
I am the dancer who
Never took a step
but outshone Isadora
I am the dream
dormant volcanoes
lie tranquil with
I am the island
who waits for
you to come home

 

• Carolle Bourne (1937-2012) was one of Barbados’ leading art reviewers.  She was the author of Saraband (The Incomplete Works of Caroline Ravenspeare) (2003), which was shortlisted for the Frank Collymore Literary Award, and a winner of the Kamau Brathwaite Award for Poetry.