until us / These Lost Days

By Ilana Drake & Erica Drennan

We wrote these two poems to showcase connection during an isolated time. Although we were geographically far apart, these poems knit us together as we wrote on a shared document.

until us

eyes shut while the fire rages on
dreamcatcher stays put on the wall
into the hidden tunnels and walkways
feet stumbling along the ocean

toes dig into the sand searching for
something. searching for water, warmth.
no one tells you that toes have eyes.
they can see the path forward, if you let them.

blue skies sanctify the sand
and you roll back on the waves
head up, you stay afloat
counting down the days

until the fire burns itself out
until the dreamcatcher takes flight
until the tunnels emerge into the sun
until you become I
until we become us.

These Lost Days

The dream wisps away
like smoke tendrils in the air.
Words and images crack open
and vanish into dust.

I clutch my blanket
as my eyes try to stay shut.
Bridges and high heights
as the dream jumps.

Jumps to where? Somewhere,
lost. A liminal place,
between meaning and sense.
Where language lives and words are real.

Where do I stand? Far away,
cradling and catching myself.
Thinking of an immortal figure,
someone to save me from these lost days.

Process

This was a truly collaborative piece. We each took a few moments to start a poem, writing a stanza, and then switching and writing the next stanza of the other’s poem. We built off of each other’s words, getting inspired by each other’s images and language. We went back and forth with each poem until we both felt like we had come to a good endpoint. It was so much fun to see the final product of our collaboration.