Claudia Serea

Hopscotch

I draw the outline of a human body
in white chalk on black asphalt:
the feet 1-2-3-4-5,
the hands 6-7,
neck 8-9,
the egg-shaped head 10.

We take turns throwing a stone
at the chalk boy,
hopping on his feet 2-3-4-5,
on hands 6-7,
neck 8-9.

He doesn’t say much
because we didn’t draw the mouth.

He doesn’t cry chalk tears,
and we can hop on him all day,

he won’t run
from the driveway.

I throw a stone to his head,
hop on one foot
on his eyes and soft bones,

pick up the stone,
turn,
and go back.

The chalk boy will rise at night
and attack.

Claudia Serea is a Romanian-born poet who immigrated to the U.S. in 1995. Her poems and translations have appeared in 5 a.m., Meridian, Harpur Palate, Word Riot, Blood Orange Review, Cutthroat, Green Mountains Review, and many others. A two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, she is the author of Angels & Beasts (Phoenicia Publishing, Canada), The System (Cold Hub Press, New Zealand), and A Dirt Road Hangs from the Sky (8th House Publishing, Canada).

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