I’d like to go no further

than I can throw a stone,

no higher than my head,

no faster than my legs,

progressing slowly as

the ocean frittering rocks

into sand. I’ll dance as

long and live as fast

as a snowflake lifted

into the sky, and watch

the puddles harden into glaze,

sparing in my desire as the

careworn, bent figure

of a girl sifting lentils

from ash in the hearth

where she makes her bed.

She only asked her father

for the twig that brushed

his hat when she had the

chance. Strange how we

content ourselves with a

stiff allowance, forgetting

we can ask for more, we can

be what we were promised.

Esther Sadoff currently lives in Columbus, Ohio, where she teaches English to gifted and talented middle school students. She has a bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College where she studied literature as well as a Master of Education from The Ohio State University. Her poems have been featured or are forthcoming in The 2River View, The Bookends Review, Tule Review, and SWIMM Every Day.