How a Dress Lost its Sparkle

By Emma Lee

"Why did they discard their clothes on the beach?"

he repeats as if another asking will adjust the answer

to one he wants to hear. He thinks mothers should launder

their own children's clothes. He's not placated by the answer

that discarded clothes are washed, dried and recycled

for the next boatload, for the next and the next.

Above him is Arabella Dorman's "Suspended",

discarded clothing gathered from beaches held

by wires and illuminated by a spherical lamp

that alternates between yellow and bright

white light: sun and moon. The clothes are flat,

no longer needing three dimensions to cover bodies.

Amongst them is a long-sleeved, ankle length pink dress

to fit a five-year-old, covered in a layer of gold gauze.

A special occasion dress that sparkles as the light changes.

A dress that doesn't warm on cold nights, that shows dirt

and sweat, that absorbs salt water and fears, that if pulled

over a mouth would hide the bit lip that stops tears.

It won't launder without soap and what does its wearer wear

while it's washed? A closer look reveals a tide mark of salt,

an obstinate, rusty stain. Mementos no one wants to keep.

His raised hand points towards the dress. As if another asking

will adjust the answer to one he wants to hear, he repeats,

"Why did they discard their clothes on the beach?"

["Suspended" by Arabella Dorman is an art installation hosted by Leicester Cathedral during the Journeys Festival.]

*

Emma Lee’s most recent collection is “Ghosts in the Desert” (IDP, UK 2015), she co-edited “Over Land, Over Sea: poems for those seeking refuge,” (Five Leaves, UK, 2015), reviews for The High Window Journal, The Journal, London Grip and Sabotage Reviews and blogs at http://emmalee1.wordpress.com.

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