Dhruvak Mirani

A LONG TIME COMING

PUBLISHED IN FOLIO 2026: VOL. 41.

Steps on holy ground become lighter over time
as the Earth learns to expect you coming
The dirt loosens out of habit and each blade
of grass tilts to meet the angle of your feet

But clocks do not make laws because for
twenty-some years, the soil has yielded to your
smile at every new face & all of the words
they uttered for the first time

Name one of our country’s two longest rivers
When do you celebrate Independence
Day? (On Monday in a tiny courthouse?)
We are not from here but we belong here

𐫱𐫱𐫱

Dhruvak Mirani is a 2026 graduate of the University of Maryland, where he served as the student body president and a student member of the Board of Regents. He is a 2025 Truman Scholar and a 2026 Marshall Scholar. Through the latter award, he plans to pursue two years of postgraduate study in the United Kingdom.