At night when she can’t fall asleep,
she plays a word game she learned
from an anxious insomniac friend.
Think of a theme. Think of words
linked to that theme. Say them
to yourself, in alphabetical order.
Fruits and vegetables are effective.
A, apple. B, banana. C, cherry.
D, dill. E, eggplant. And so on.
Animals and birds work well too
until arriving at Q and X. Luckily
she remembers quail and quetzal
and recently she learned of Xerus,
a small, burrowing rodent in Africa.
Geography doesn’t work for her.
She can name continents, countries,
rivers, mountain ranges, deserts,
even obscure land formations.
She’s good at that. But the images
won’t let her go: Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine,
Washington, D.C. She’s up all night.
Cindy Snow teaches and coordinates writing and language tutors at GCC. She holds an MFA in Poetry, and her writing has been published in The Massachusetts Review and elsewhere and has been nominated for a Pushcart. Slate Roof published her chapbook Small Ceremonies. She enjoys singing, dancing, and hiking.