Poetry in Motion
New York
A nap
Toi Derricotte
A nap
Alone in my house
during a rainstorm
I open the back door so that the
sound comes in &
rain makes a little puddle
inside the screen It is
early afternoon, though dark,
I lie on the bed
& put my papers down beside me I am
light, as if there were no
blame or guilt—light
inside, heavy out—each part
of me balanced, supported.
"A nap" from “I": New & Selected Poems. Copyright © 2019. Reprinted with permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press. Forte (Quarropas) (2020) © Barbara Takenaga, MNR White Plains Station. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Photo by Steven Bates.