Gravel Sonnet
I tripped and dug my knee into the
gravel. I wanted to take a part of this place
with me, to leave my blood on its dusty
streets. Do you know what it’s like to lay
claim to a home that isn’t your home. To look
at the back of your hand and think it
shouldn’t show your veins. I bandaged
the gravel, not the knee, because I thought
that’s what it would have wanted. A month later,
in America, I’ll open my mouth. Run my tongue
over bright vowels and a growling in my throat. But slowly
forget what it feels like to breathe salt air. To enjoy
the taste of a Manesi tomato. Fight for a culture
that I’d like to think is fighting for me back.
Iliana Demas won 1st place in the Charles Crupi Memorial Poetry Contest for Michigan High School students. For more information on the contest, please visit the Albion College English Department website.
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