IN CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND YOUR CONTROL

by Sara Sarna

"Broken Heart — Bleeding Heart" by Michal Boubin

You feel the cracking.

Vow to be a gap-filler,

leak-plugger,

like the boy at the dike,

who knows if he walks away,

the world drowns.

It seems there is no way

to stop things coming apart,

short of legions, armies

of the like-minded,

plugging holes.

But despair is pervasive,

contagious,

the goal all along.

Hold fast,

and I will hold you

and someone else 

will hold me

and on and on

until together we are 

stitch and bandage

to bind up the hurt,

the heart,

of a nation.

Sara Sarna is a poet, actor and hiker. She is a member of Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, Wisconsin Writers Association, and Write On, Door County. Her work has appeared in print, online, and been heard from stage and radio. Her chapbook Whispers from a Bench was published in 2020.

WOMAN, WAKING

by Sara Sarna

But Alito’s Italian stand-up routine came at the expense of millions of people’s lived realities in this country right now—many of whom will die because of his unpopular opinion. I personally don’t find it funny at all. —Laura Bassett, Jezebel, July 28, 2022

It was never a matter of balance. 

It was a poorly weighted pendulum  

that sent us scurrying 

between who we needed to be  

and who others needed. 

Sometimes we forgot 

how to choose ourselves, 

put off becoming, 

fell asleep to our value. 

Now you beat your drum 

in celebration of what you claim 

as victory, and it wakes us 

to your arrogance. 

This is one battle. 

We do not fear the war. 

Sara Sarna is a poet, actor and hiker in southeastern Wisconsin. Her work has been published in print and online, and been heard on stage and on the radio. Her chapbook Whispers from a Bench was published in 2019.

THE PARTY'S OVER

by Sara Sarna

It's time to call it a day.

We've waited four years

for the band to show up

so we could dance.

Now that the lights are on 

and chairs are stacked,

the dancing has finally begun.

To those whose invitations

were lost in the mail

the entire term,

Welcome.

There is safe space for you here.

The locked doors stand open,

the previous tenants moved on

to landscaping

or some such pursuit.

Sara Sarna is a poet and actress in southeastern Wisconsin. To support her artistic habits she works in healthcare. Her poems have appeared in print, online and onstage.