Meghan Sterling
In My Dreams the World Is a Mango-Flavored Orgy
Last night I dreamt I was a Tigerlily, a yawning
orange tongue knocking against the rigid tangle
of chain-link fence. There was an ice cream stand
where topless people handed out free gelato. Mango.
Lemon. In the summer, I have to pull myself away
from dreaming. Something about the heat, the way
it presses me heavily into the bed. The sheets a knot
of sweat and memory. Then there are all the treats.
Mango gelato. Floral skirts and sandals. The little
place where a person’s t-shirt cuts soft across the beam
of a bicep. I want to lick it just there, underneath.
The truth is, in the summer, I want to eat the world,
or at least, have a small nibble. Is it strange to want
to bite into everyone and everything? Just to taste.
Meghan Sterling(she/her/hers) is a queer/bi writer and working mother living in Maine. Her poetry has been published in Tahoma Literary Review, Los Angeles Review, Colorado Review, Rhino Poetry, Hunger Mountain, and other journals. She became Poet Laureate of the city of Gardiner, Maine in 2025. Read her work at meghansterling.com.