a found poem: Virginia Woolf’s The Waves
Dancing alone, the ground slapping
against my soles
my blood billowing and rippling in me
my breath all quickness
I jump and shut my eyes and my pulse
seems to leap—it drums—
and I see this universe: the grass
the trees, my ribs
my very person. I am bright
a red gilt flower
and nothing is staid
nothing is settled.
I feel singled out—summoned
to triumph.
Nazifa Islam grew up in Novi, Michigan. Her poems have appeared in Boston Review, Gulf Coast, The Account, and Beloit Poetry Journal among other publications, and her poetry collection Searching for a Pulse (2013) was released by Whitepoint Press. She earned her MFA at Oregon State University. You can find her @nafoopal.