“open the window, open the window and open it wide!” I say

by Bracha K. Sharp

And peering out at the downpour,
Speckles flung haphazardly on
Stone steps, trees flung in the rain,
Staccato taps a constant in the background —

Yes, this is the primeval that touches mundanity,
The skies pigeon-grey, the wind unfurling closed leaves —
And I, standing there,
Know only this loving prayer,

And like the leaves pirouetting in mist
And the birds crooning at the skies, I, too,
Lift up my arms and twirl in this
Edenic and aqueous world.

Bracha K. Sharp was published in the American Poetry Review, the Birmingham Arts Journal, Sky Island Journal, ONE ART: a journal of poetry, and Wild Roof Journal, among others. She placed first in the national Hackney Literary Awards; the poem subsequently appeared in the Birmingham Arts Journal. She was a finalist in the New Millennium Writings Poetry Awards and received a 2019 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards Silver Medal for her debut picture book. As her writing notebooks seem to end up finding their way into different rooms, she is always finding both old pieces to revisit and new inspirations to work with. She is a current reader for the Baltimore Review. You can find out more about her writing by visiting: www.brachaksharp.com