From Her Notes

By Nomi Stone Nomi Stone

My last Sabbath,

I follow the girls, who sneak into

the wedding

tent, scattered with sun

flower seeds and remnants of

celebration. They

each stand up on a

table. Take a crushed beer can

as a microphone,

sing and move their

fifteen-year-old hips. I watch,

clap for them, until

a small face peers in

the door. A boy. His face white

with something. The door

slamming, his very small

fist holding it shut, having

found what was inside

wrong. Enough, I tell

him; enough! He leaves. The girls

dance again, but less

bold. Look: the boy

has come back, is looking you

hard in the eye, through

the crack of the door.

There, in his hand, a neon

plastic BB

gun. He does this for

his grandmother and for his

son.

Source: Stranger’s Notebook (TriQuarterly Books, 2008)

Biography

Nomi Stone's first book of poems, Stranger’s Notebook (TriQuarterly Books, 2008) chronicles her time living in one of the last cohesive Jewish communities in North Africa. She has a Masters in Middle Eastern Studies from Oxford University, and was Fulbright Scholar in Creative Writing in Tunisia. Stone is currently a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at Columbia University. She has received poetry fellowships and grants . . .

Continue reading this biography