flapped and was gone
just like that
I stood wingless
on the earth
turned
to the sky
which was empty
nothing floating far away
I bent down
pressed my hands
to the concrete
until tiny pieces of gravel
writ sentences there
I slid my finger across my palm
brushed the skin
like a page
rereading the lines
till my palm was gone.
Hila Ratzabi’s poetry is published in “The Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary Jewish American Poetry” and a variety of literary journals. She holds a master’s of fine arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College, and is the founder of the Red Sofa Salon & Poetry Workshop in Philadelphia.
