She washes the virus

from the sheets.

As they dry she folds.

She carries them to the bedroom.

A blue lamp on the night table

sheds light.

She sits on her mother’s

empty bed

wipes her eyes, listens

to voice of the sparrow

sing.

•••
Jerrice J. Baptiste is a poet and author of eight books. She was the recipient of a residency for The Women's Leadership Program at The Omega Institute, NY, 2019. Her poems have been published and are forthcoming in The Yale Review; Kosmos Journal; Mantis; Penumbra Literary & Art Journal; Shambhala Times; The Caribbean Writer; West Trestle Review; The Lake Poetry Journal; The Tulane Review; Autism Parenting Magazine; So Spoke the Earth: Anthology of Women Writers of Haitian Descent and many others. She also facilitates creative writing workshops. Her poems and collaborative songwriting are on the Grammy award winning album Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti. Jerrice is the host of Women of Note on WKZE, 98.1 FM in Red Hook, NY where she enjoys playing Jazz & world music for her international audience. Visit her at Guanabanabooks.com to learn more about her work.

Sparrow

Jerrice Baptiste