Naming Ceremony

by Vanessa Victoria Volpe

I will die at sea-
on the boat I found in grandfather’s yard
its little strips of paint bending backwards
like marigolds to the sun.

He said “I’m much too old to sail,”
elevated its rusty neck,
propped it up on cedar blacks.
It was like lying down.

I said, “today I saw the heart of an elephant in a big glass box”
he rubbed his hands and died
and I carried the boat to the water.

Vanessa Victoria Volpe is a senior studying Applied Psychology in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. She’s influenced by Milan Kundera, her parents, Jeffrey Arnett, Cornelia Parker, and the missed connections section of Craigslist.