Chittick Elementary School

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Alex Bernstein

 

The brick building looks familiar although I’ve never been here.

My mother stands in the distance,

her arms crossed,

her dark hair against the clear blue sky.

In her eyes, flashes of her own childhood.

Young children run in the yard,

books clutched tightly in their arms.

 

Here, she learned how to do it,

on a Saturday in 1978.

The wind blowing through her hair.

 

We have driven an hour to get here,

hoping this schoolyard will provide the juju.

I’ve failed to take off in the past

throughout schoolyards and parking lots in my hometown.

I could not break the fear of imbalance.

My body wobbling as I fell to the ground.

 

Nobody tells me how it will feel.

I don’t remember how it happens.

An old Ford passes in the street.

I let go of the green chain-link fence.

The pedals spring forward,

the universe in perfect unison.

The wind blows through my hair.

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Alex Bernstein is a sophomore in the School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program at Rutgers University. Hailing from Moorestown, New Jersey, Alex pursues his love for reading and writing through his extracurriculars. Alex serves as a Lead Tutor at the Rutgers Writing Center, as well as an embedded tutor for College Writing.