I Got Out - Elaine Nadal

i’ve got a jam that’ll make you go

tappin’ clappin’ whistlin’

stars and sunsets--

a sticky song a nightingale envies

a refrain ringin’ with gardenias and birthstones

growin’ beats beats beats

the heart is alive after tightness and strain

and it won’t refrain from lovin’ and feelin’-- smooth

my melody’s got no edges

no nicks or tricks

it rose from ripened fruit

an indisposed ray

some inherited spoils-- reconstructed

nothin’ in my song is wasteD

some say not intricatE,

that it’s missing a labyrinth

they don’t know my tunE

how it came from the gut

the grit in my Palms

the jagged silhouette of hunger

growlin’ frettin’ pressin’

tryin’ to escape to make it out okay

i was starvin’

i was holdin’ on fightin’

prayin’ for a silver lining

inside the belly of a whale.

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A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net-nominee, Elaine Nadal is the author of two poetry chapbooks: When and Sweat, Dance, Sing, Cut, published by Finishing Line Press. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in several journals and anthologies. Nadal has shared her work at many venues. She recently did a TEDx talk on hope, poetry, and music.