She grabs onto her family.

Her mama on the right

Her sister on the left,

Her brother trails behind

carrying the luggage.

Her papa carrying two brown trunks

filled with whatever they could fit.

She stands in front of a big boat

bobbing up and down in the water

taller than any mountain she's ever seen in Italy.

The boat

covered in a rustic white.

She squints to get a closer look

"Michelangelo" is painted in red on the side.

This is her home for the next eight days.

Before they could board

tall men stop them

telling her mama

she needs to cut her hair

because "Americans wear their hair short"

She stands back, watching

as the shiny blades

split her mama's

long, chestnut braid.

They hand it to mama

and she puts it in the luggage

so she could always have a piece of home.

Together, she boards with her family.

The rocking of the boat

moves her back and forth.

The movement

is too much for her little body.

As she makes her way through the boat

she passes the game room

where she will spend the next eight days

playing with the other kids.

Having the privilege of speaking in their native language

before they have to learn a new one.

She reaches the top of the boat

as the horn sounds.

The people on the land below

the size of ants

gathered together

to wave goodbye.

She waves goodbye

to her people.

her country.

her home

and sets forth

among the glistening

blue ocean

to start a better life.