"the hope" by Ilana Drake

when the plane landed

& i walked through the

airport, i felt the way

i do when i enter

the apartment &

my parents crowd me

with hugs: home

at 16, i walked through

dachau, tears falling into

the ground as i tried

to put the sites together,

tried to piece the information

of my identity in a place where

my eyes and ears could not

translate the german language

quickly enough

as i walked through jerusalem,

i did not walk alone,

my steps were in sync

with the others

i clutched the wall &

let my body kneel,

holding onto the stone,

my letter is tucked into

a corner of the brick,

space.

Ilana Drake (she/her) is a sophomore at Vanderbilt University, and she is a student activist and writer. Her work has been published in Ms. Magazine, YR Media, and The 74 among others. She is also the recipient of multiple Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. She can be found on Twitter @IlanaDrake_ and her website is https://ilanadrake.wixsite.com/mysite/projects