Simona Carini was born in Perugia, Italy. She writes poetry and nonfiction and has been published in various venues, in print and online. Her first poetry collection Survival Time is published by Sheila-Na-Gig Editions. She lives in Northern California with her husband, loves to spend time outdoors, and works as an academic researcher. Her website is https://simonacarini.com

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In the Forest I Do Not Feel Small

Knotted rope, a broken brick, pottery shards shift and clash
in my inner space. As the center wobbles,
I stumble into the day, yet wish only to curl

into a comma, reduce the space I’ve heard I hold
no right to reserve for my use. Breaths, beats—
what makes me alive slows down. Wait.

I enter a vault of trees, ceiling in shades of green—
fronds, leaves, needles, floor dark and soft to the step.
If sunny, light sifts down like sand through my fingers.

When overcast, light washes trunks and branches
with a matte glaze. Sacred is the place that unties me,
expands my reach, builds an echoing hall within,

fills it with bellbird’s song. I encompass
a sliver of universe alive, alight with pulse.