Christina Hoag's poem "Jet Lag in Downtown San Jose, Costa Rica

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Christina Hoag was travelling before she was even born. Slated to enter the world in Zambia, she made her grand debut in New Zealand. Three weeks later, she moved to Fiji. She's been travelling ever since, growing up in seven countries and living in three more as a foreign correspondent. She is the author of novels Girl on the Brink and Skin of Tattoos, novellas Law of the Jungle and The Blood Room. Her short stories and essays have appeared in literary reviews including Lunch Ticket, Toasted Cheese and Shooter, and have won several awards. For more information: https://christinahoag.com



matches rattle

a scrape a spark

the acrid scent of another cigarette

for another sleepless traveller

floorboards creak

with unknown footsteps

mice squeak 

as they pitter-patter  

farts and sneezes

the doorbell buzzes

necesito dormir unas horas

a stoned gringo stammers

lights flash

toilets flush

a baby wails

rocking rhythm 

of a coupling on a coilspring mattress

through walls of wafer

the finite passage of infinite minutes

tick tocks by

then singsongs of buenos dias

sweep away the night

brooms swoosh

water runs

aluminum pots clank

the aroma of coffee paints the air in sharp relief

so the night passes


© 2022 Christina Hoag

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