by Dr. Tara Zafft
of India. Day two,
still not sure which time zone my
body is in, I walk south. It’s safe.
I know the Embarcadero, worked
across the street at the Tax
Collector when I was in college.
Hung out in cafes at Seaport Village.
Little Italy. This is my town. I
feel the ground, need the ground.
I walk toward Coronado. Which
always reminds me of Marilyn Monroe.
I walk away from the airport, airplanes
landing so close I feel the reverb in my
bones. Today I do not want to
feel reverb in my bones. Today
I seek people sounds—like the old
couple with roller bags rushing
toward a cruise ship. Ensenada,
the sign says. They have matching
t-shirts. And smiles. I am happy to
see them happy. I am always happy
to see people happy, I never
understood schadenfreude. The sun
shines straight into my eyes. As if
it’s personal. As if the sun is saying,
burn it all away sweetheart. But what?
Should I burn away? I near the bend
in the road and see outdoor bars.
And groups of people drinking mimosas,
I think they are mimosas. Isn’t that what
people drink on a Sunday at 10am?
Now I am walking back up north.
True North. Why is north any truer
than south? Now I am back. At the
Star of India. Where there is
a crowd gathering. And police.
With all kinds of weapons on
their waists. A woman watching
tells me a man jumped in the water.
Is he ok? She says yes but he’s
screaming that he doesn’t want to
be saved. ICE, he screams ICE.
You all need to leave says a big
policeman with bulging biceps.
We retreat and then I can see
the frightened man’s hand.
Gripping a chrome yellow rope.
Dr. Tara Zafft, writer and educator, is most recently Winner of the Moonlit Getaway Poetry Prize. Her work has appeared in Rumors, Secrets and Lies, Poems about Abortion, Pregnancy and Choice, Stillwater Review, The San Diego Poetry Annual, Bayou Magazine, and Dumbo Press. She has a forthcoming chapbook, Sketches – Becoming a Body, published by Moonstone Press. Tara holds a BA in Russian Literature from UC San Diego and a Ph.D. in Modern Languages from the University of Bath, UK. Her work explores themes of motherhood, belonging, war, and personal and collective trauma.