the shot
A nurse
younger than I am—
we are both seedlings
doing the work
of full-grown trees—
her hand is shaking,
my fingers grip
the arm rest
like I’m holding
onto life—
but the syringe
is solid, calm,
as if it’s been injecting
people for years—
then a prick,
a trickle of blood,
like sex
but with
a Band-aid covering.
Juanita Rey is a Dominican poet who has been in this country five years. Her work has been published in Mixed Mag, The Mantle, and The Art of Everyone.