Dream of St. Ursula, by Melanie DuBose

Dream of St. Ursula by Vittore Carpaccio, (Italy) 1490-96.

Dream of St. Ursula
 
She has the perfect room
Even without the angel
The green and red walls
A myrtle tree and geraniums
 
The large bed empty except for her small sleeping body
The angel has come to announce her purity
And later 10,0000 virgins will follow her to death
But she doesn’t know this yet
 
She enjoys the empty bed
The lovely room
The sunlight streams in behind the angel
The angel leans forward
Her palm upraised
Her wings a shadow behind her
St. Ursula does not wake and only dreams of the angel’s presence
 
This is the room of my dreams
I blaspheme and cut the picture right out of the art book
And put the picture in another book
Hidden as though it were the Kama Sutra
And it was only today that I remembered
 
As a child I dreamt of purity
Of a large bed that was my own
To wake, to lie awake, to sleep, to read
A beautiful room with plants
Silent with books
And dark corners
 
Forty years have passed
Today I remembered St Ursula
And bought a myrtle tree

​Melanie DuBose
 
Melanie DuBose is a writer and filmmaker from Los Angeles.  A graduate of the UCLA film school, she is an Activate Arts LA Fellow and works towards equity in arts education. She has won a number of odd awards including one from the National Weather Association.