The Memory of Place
That vacant lot in a desert
stretching between cities
where we walked the perimeter
inspecting each step instead of crossing blind
That taut line we held for our lives,
those windows, shuttered to our cries;
the faces that turned away in shame
That bridge we crossed
not knowing if it could hold the weight of our oppression.
The few who noticed and spoke up for us,
the few who risked their lives, who sheltered us.
Rebecca M. Ross is a writer, educator, and avid hiker and backpacker currently living in New York's Hudson Valley but very proud of her Brooklyn roots. She's also a Phishhead, a lover of clever puns, and a mom who tells dad jokes. Her writing has recently been published in Peeking Cat, and has not-so-recently been published in Unpious, Jewish Fiction.net, Errant Parent, and other online and print publications. She has poetry forthcoming or published in The Westchester Review and Soul-Lit.