Bookish

by Sally Zakariya

Almost daily it seems
the stack grows higher
  uneven
    unwieldy
threatening alphabetical avalanche

We read and sleep and read again

Meals become necessary interruptions
phone calls welcome distractions
as we reach for a bookmark
so as not to lose the place
not to lose a sentence
  a word
    a thought
the one that might keep us safe
from the virus that rages outside
while we read

Sally Zakariya’s poetry has appeared in some 75 print and online journals and been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Her most recent publication is Muslim Wife (Blue Lyra Press, 2019). She is also the author of The Unknowable Mystery of Other People, Personal Astronomy, When You Escape, Insectomania, and Arithmetic and other verses, as well as the editor of a poetry anthology, Joys of the Table. Art by Karyn Kloumann, founder of award-winning indie publisher Nauset Press.