One of the Flickering

Awkward Mermaid
Sep 4, 2018 · 1 min read

By Elizabeth Dickinson

Forever a vale of rituals,
visiting the shaman,
licking salt from my wrist,
sifting through grey
matter, pacing an electric
hall of the ward,
a traveler carrying
a spinning compass.

Discord between
sunken skin &
smoking synapse,
the buzz of anxiety,
like faulty wiring,
rapt from lapping potions
in a dog dish.

A zombie, arms outstretched,
exposing an afflicted soul.


Elizabeth York Dickinson received her MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. She has work published or forthcoming in Eunoia Review, Drunk Monkeys, Picaroon Poetry, Rhythm ‘N Bones and Riggwelter among others. She currently resides in Evanston, Illinois. Follow her on Twitter @aworldwanderer.

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Awkward Mermaid is an online literary community and safe space for writers to share freely their experiences with mental illness.

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