Sara Norja

Betweening

That stab of a moment, half a heartbeat
away from the leap, before you plunge
into the otherworld's ferns, its water-lilies —

The time of fading, leaves crushed underfoot
when you light candles to welcome the rustling dark —

The skip 'twixt breath and breath:

This is where you cup
your life in two hands.

Sara Norja dreams in two languages. Her poetry has appeared in publications such as Goblin Fruit, Curio, Strange Horizons, Through the Gate, Niteblade and Interfictions. Her short fiction has appeared in 365 Tomorrows and Quantum Fairy Tales, and is forthcoming in the anthology An Alphabet of Embers. She blogs at Such Wanderings.