Kristen Zory King is a writer, teaching artist and yoga instructor based in Washington, DC. For the past ten years, she has been a proud Mt. Pleasant neighbor and frequent Rock Creek Park hiker. Her work, both on and off the page, is deeply inspired by nature, movement, and creative congregation. Published writing can be found in Electric Lit, HAD, Ghost Parachute, among other journals and in 2025, she celebrated the release of her chapbook of flash fiction stories, Ladies, Ladies, Ladies, at The Potter’s House alongside family, friends, and the vibrant DC literary community.
She is currently a graduate student at George Mason University where she is exploring a project on vocation, community, and the creative human spirit. Learn more or be in touch at www.kristenzoryking.com.
Simply
The leaf belongs to no one. Not even to the tree,
not even to the wind. The leaf belongs, simply,
to the leaf. But—for the tree the leaf will work.
For the wind, the leaf will play. From the sun,
she drinks (how ancient, this thirst). To the earth,
she feeds (how holy, thanksgiving). What I am saying
is this that to stand is one way to pray. To sit is another.
You must—yes, must—take your role in this world
seriously. What I am saying is that love is the opposite
of everything and you, too, belong simply to yourself.
