Jess Sand

Double Dutch

I used to watch the girls
jump double dutch
their arms the swinging ropes
wrapped round each other
thwap thwapping a cocoon
of muscle memory
musical laughter
an arc of childhood.
I used to watch them, wondrous
flames of fiery girls
feeling my heavy feet
my round face
offering nothing in return.

 

 

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Jess Sand was born on the East Coast, and has lived in the Bay Area for more than 20 years, calling Oakland home for the last decade. She has always written poetry, appearing in print for the first time as a child, eventually earning a degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University, only to run sideways into the rat race. She earns her living as a digital strategist for nonprofits working toward democratic economies, social justice, and generally uprooting the status quo.