WHEN YOU SAY MIGRANT

when you say the word migrant
I look out my window 
where the maples have sprouted 
bouffant hairdos shielding visitors 
who hide within the waves of their crowns

when you say the word migrant
my mind soars on trilling birdsongs 
echoing through the night —
to think they might be caged 
at any moment, wings clipped 

banished alone

when you say the word migrant
I hear accents   taste spices 
marvel at the palette arrayed 
on earth’s table waiting 
to be sampled and savored

when you say the word migrant
I reach for lavender soap
to wash away your disdain — 
for aren’t we all wanderers
seeking safety and solace 

a place to make a home

Emily-Sue Sloane is an award-winning poet who writes to capture moments of wonder, worry and human connection. She is the author of full-length collection We Are Beach Glass (2022) and chapbook Disconnects and Other Broken Threads (The Poetry Box, 2024). Sloane’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in numerous journals and anthologies, including Floating Acorn Review; MockingHeart Review; Nassau County Poet Laureate Society Review; PoetryXHunger; Empire Poetry Verse; Oberon; and Wild Roof Journal. She lives on Long Island with her wife, singer-songwriter Linda Sussman. For more, https://emilysuesloane.com