Shikha Malaviya
Touchdown
She says she can’t stop crying
her heart in a holding pattern over Allepo
while she sips coffee in Atlanta
You’re overreacting I say
Thank God you’re okay
that you aren’t being asked
to prove yourself
by singing O Say Can You See
dawn’s early light melding into dusk
in a tiny room that quakes
as planes land and take off
the baggage carousel spinning
round and round
two suitcases unclaimed
Shikha Malaviya is the author of Geography of Tongues (The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective, 2013). She is a co-founder of The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective, a literary press dedicated to new poetic voices from India. Her poems have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Water~Stone Review and other journals. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay area. Learn more at shikhamalaviya.com.
SUBMIT to What Rough Beast via our SUBMITTABLE site.
If you want to support the mission and work of Indolent Books, consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Indolent Arts Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity.