AMERICA (LEFT OVER)

It tastes like leftover Thanksgiving food stored in the fridge,
unwrapped too many days after Thursday
Gave my thanks on the day of Thanksgiving
I am living on a memory
It was so good then
The remnants smell like last week
I can still see the plate
So pretty, overflowing with goodness
I can still hear the laughter
When the family gathered
I can feel the excitement building up in my chest
But it’s over now
I can only hold hope in my heart for next years
And alas,
America, good to see you again

KaNikki Jakarta has been featured on NBC, WUSA9, and Comcast. She is an Award-Winning Performance Poet and an Amazon Best Selling Author and the First Black Poet Laureate of Alexandria, Virginia. Her social media platforms are @kanikkiJ

From the I, Too, Am America Project, selected for publication in the Amplify US Literary Journal