in a dream we named the dead;
we paused in our work to listen
to a voice on a loudspeaker
or maybe in our heads
listing all those who had succumbed
to the disease

if every object holds the memory
of all the light to ever touch it
you could look into a mirror and see the past

i'm thinking about a clock that runs too fast;
a compass that spins wildly;
a well-known book with pages that are blank;
i'm thinking about a moment
when we all collectively agree
to no longer abide
by the oppressive rulings
of time

i feel like i could be better
at disassociating;
a body slowly transforming
into a complex shape

i'm looking forward to becoming
a ball of moss

to walking out into the water
kelp about the ankle
oscillating with the waves
a small skull rolling over the sand
pushed and pulled
long and small yellow teeth
a beast lost to or becoming
the sea

in a dream we named the dead;
a list of names of all those who had succumbed;
the naming goes on
and on for a long time

sadly, i have not yet become a bird

In a Dream We Named the Dead
2022; billboard; 6 x 12 ft.
Commissioned by Premiere Jr., an artist-run exhibition project on a billboard in San Francisco's Inner Sunset neighborhood.