2017: Day 5

Where Words Visit

I live half my life everyday
Use half my body
I save the rest for later
One lung, one kidney
Half my liver
Two ventricles

One day I will wake up
Let my bones sink into all the flesh
Let my eyes settle into their sockets
Flex my shoulder and let
my fins grow
my gills loose
swim away from the shore.

— Maryam Ansari

Arzobispado

Under my sisters hijab,
walking the cobble streets.
A black sun hat pulled down,
I can’t miss the extended stares.
Tucked under, a floral print,
Superman’s got his competition made.
Cotton so soft, lit by the glowing Caribbean sun
the male gaze tries to make sense,
Hues bouncing off the walls with every enunciated word,
that girl, whats she wearing.
Brightest of lights absorbing color out of the world,
Una mujeres indo, pero ella hable ingles,
She is the magical presence;
the street disrupted, can’t seem to get back to its pace.
Mary, mother of Jesus, your children have forgotten you.

— Affad Shaikh