The bell rang. Enzo gave his parents a quick hug and ran to take his place in the line. There was no doubt that this was going to be the best day of his life: at last he was going to secondary ... [+]
Hannah Rousselot's poem, "Whispers from the Sand," was originally published in Short Edition’s September '19 Rendez-Vous. Hannah is a queer French-American poet and educator. You can support her on facebook.com/hmrpoetry or buy her first book, Fragments of You.
The seashells near the ocean
where I grew up are storytellers.
Every morning, feet burning in the sand
(yellow, the sun) I run to listen
to what they have to say. They tell me
about creatures that live in darkness
so profound they make their own light.
They tell me about forgotten things:
bottles, diapers, shoes, cars, rings,
rusted metal and disintegrating paper.
They tell me about fragility, and how
that can be strength, too. When I leave
and walk back home, I remember
their voices, but not their words.