His Left Hand

for Alex Pretti

by Nicole Lombardi / February 1st, 2026

The truth is

while he holds his

phone in his right

hand he squeezes a

counterfeit bill

in his left. The

lady in pink

screams while the

agents raise weapons

that make the street suck

in its breath.

We sing “Which side are you on,

my people?” until our

hot breath hangs low

and settles on

his hand–

empty, and gasping

for air.

Nicole Lombardi a high school English teacher and writer who lives in Oak Park, Il. She has essays published in Mindful Word, English Journal and Feels Blind Literary Magazine. Her poetry can be found in Beyond Words Literary Magazine, Dissident Voice, After Hours Press, and others. Read other articles by Nicole.

This article was posted on Sunday, February 1st, 2026 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.