National Poetry Month: Ghost Fishing Excerpt Two

In honor of Earth day this Sunday, we’ve decided to spotlight three poems from Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology edited by Melissa Tuckey. Ghost Fishing is a gathering of poetry at the intersection of culture, social justice, and the environment.

 

Another Day

Sara Goudarzi 

It is the birds I worry about

when the streets become shadows

and planes litter the sky

when my father wraps my hand in his

and we’re headed down to the basement again

where it’s safest.

It is the birds I worry about

when the anti-aircraft tracers are brighter than the stars

and I’m watching through a small window

praying to a god I won’t believe in when the sky clears.

It is the birds I worry about

when the bomb of the night finally drops

and a family is dust.

It is the birds

the birds

that I, the nine-year-old,

worry about.

Because it’s their song

that wakes me to another day.

Ghost Fishing edited by Melissa Tuckey