Upon Realizing That I’ve Lost My Immigrant ID Card
By Rosa Gilbert
I pray the star-spangled banner like a rosary.
Each of the fifty stars a lustrous bead––
carrying my supplications, waving them up
in the air closer to heaven.
But, I am neither Catholic nor American.
So, I pray to the God of a thousand nations.
Who calls me to him from every corner of the earth,
who understands my mother tongue:
dame fuerzas, Dios.
Rosa Gilbert is a publishing assistant at Calla Press Publishing LLC. Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Spanish is her first language, but it was through learning English that she fell in love with words. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Ekstasis, Clayjar Review, Prosetrics Literary Magazine, and America Magazine, among others. She lives in Ohio with her husband and daughter. Her debut collection is forthcoming from The Way Back Books later this year. You can find her writing at https://rosagilbert.substack.com/ and @rosagilbertpoetry.
