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The Carpathians - University of British Columbia

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A n n e Le D r e s s a y<br />

In my next life<br />

I have stumbled four times<br />

over the same step today.<br />

I am the kind <strong>of</strong> person who<br />

cannot climb stairs without<br />

thinking about climbing stairs.<br />

In my next life, I will be<br />

a dancer. To make up for<br />

the undirected hunger in<br />

the shape <strong>of</strong> my bones —<br />

the long hungry bones and the<br />

flat incapable weight that<br />

hamper me now. To make up<br />

for the distrust <strong>of</strong> space<br />

and <strong>of</strong> my own perceptions.<br />

In my next life, I will be<br />

the same size in my mind<br />

as in the world. I will know<br />

without thinking<br />

how much space I take up,<br />

how far to lift my foot<br />

to the next step.<br />

In my next life, I will flow,<br />

trusting the air and the earth<br />

and my own feet. I will<br />

write poems with my body,<br />

poems so fine and ephemeral<br />

they will flow into smoke<br />

and leave an ache<br />

like hunger in people's minds.<br />

I will not stumble, I will not<br />

stumble<br />

over the top step.

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