Mary Anning collected fossils
as I collect dreams.
Ever yearning, ever wondering
what hope lies beyond
the Cliffs of Dover.
Here I sit in Lions Park,
dusting, excavating dinosaurs
of wishes that never
came. New ones in
their place. So beautiful
is improvisation. A world
of unknowing. Impossible
pasts. Possible futures.
An ichthyosaur at twelve
years old. Who could
have predicted?
Who could have dreamed?
Sweet Mary,
dug up the world.

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EJ Hyndman is a writer and veil poi artist from the UK. After a decade with CFS/ME and chronic pain, she’s now in recovery, exploring the world and writing fiction shaped by resilience and invisibility. She loves circus arts, movement and storytelling in all its forms. Her work can be found in FLARE magazine and The Thorney Post.