Sample Writing

2010-2011 Ilona Karmel Poetry Winner

OFF BALANCE

Something doesn’t feel right.
Two trains on the tracks
dark brown and heavy.
Look like coal trains
but they’re not filled with home.
At least I don’t have to walk through
slush to learn my equations.
A step is crumbling on the stairs
of the Longfellow. I saw it on my run.
77 flanked by black banners,too modern.
Symmetrical,but out of place.
And no one famous died,why black?
Walking on,a single door knob twisted
45 degrees right. So wrong.
Can’t something line up? Even
one of my boots is ripping,thread
splitting up the back.
Is this what a stroke feels like?
When victims close their eyes and
one arm drifts down?
They can’t.They never
know the
difference.