Alexis Rotella

Night Stranger

I’ll never forget him, the man who came into my room to nibble my toes while I slept. Sometimes he placed my feet between two slices of Wonder bread. I never saw his face.

In a white pinafore
I stand at the foot
of my parent's bed
chanting prayers
speaking in tongues

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About the Author

New to Greensboro, NC, Alexis Rotella has been writing Japanese poetry forms in English since the late 1970s. Her most recent books, Scratches on the Moon (haibun) and the anthology Unsealing Our Secrets (MeToo Stories) earned Touchstone book awards. Her latest anthology, Grandmother’s Pearls, is available on Amazon/Kindle, as are a number of her books.