by Effie Pasagiannis
Each day,
a dry hot spell,
allegiance set
aflame and separate
as we all emerged from
winter nests
It was a season of discontent
I called home,
where alone came in
bursts of isolated
states hurling insecure
pledges of belonging
On the ground
of this home,
I lay face up
squinting past
a sun blazing through
the opening,
blocks
of something hard
had surely fallen –
someone braver
dared
and so the weight of history,
sourced and polished
from marble quarry,
now sits on the bottom
of the well
next to my home
of shadow
and light,
Blue Juniper
cushioning me
as I tell time
with rain and cherry
wine
floating
(not drifting)
a movement of intent,
I finally join the chorus
hey hey, my my
out of the blue into the black.
Effie Pasagiannis is a NYC based lawyer, writer and curator. Her poetry has been featured in journals such as The Write Launch, Raw Art Review, Pen + Brush’s In Print Issue 1, and Stanford University’s Mantis Journal (April 2019). Her first poetry collection, Anagnorisis, was published by Dancing Girl Press with a launch event at Poets House in January 2020. She is working on two poetry chapbooks and a collection of short stories, one of which is being adapted into a feature length film by Nomadis Images (production slated for Spring 2021). As a curator, she collaborates with other writers and artists showcasing work in soul nourishing spaces. Effie looks forward to more of these readings and events post pandemic. Sabiyha Prince is an anthropologist, artist, and author based in Washington, DC. Her books and essays explore urban change and African American culture, and her paintings and photo collages grapple with memory, identity, kinship and inequality.
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