My daughter came into this world at 6:05 p.m, screaming in protest at the bright lights and cold air. My husband cut the umbilical cord. She was taken to the other side of the room to be weighed, measured, and cleaned. Although I had only held her briefly, my arms already felt so empty without…
Tag: relationships
“Sucker” and “Respire. expire:”
Sucker She circled it around her tongue.The stick clasped between newly stained red nails.Twirling it back and forth between her swollen lips.The threat of stickiness lingered as sugar infested salivatrembled towards her fingers.She allowed her canines to pierce throughas she crunched downon the glassy exterior shattering in her mouth.Lollipops were her favourite, especially now her…
Why 30 Days? Why 30 Poems? Because April is the Cruelest Month
As we look back on our recently concluded 30 Days, 30 Poems Project celebrating National Poetry Month and continue to mark Mental Health Awareness Month in May, we are sharing this piece today, about the intersection between the two. If you are in the US and need urgent mental health assistance, you can call, text…
Strawberries
I bought strawberries today. Every day, she picks one thing, a single occurrence, polishes it painstakingly in her head like a rolling marble until, by nightfall, she can present it to him, magnified and encased. Turned over as a token, whispered over the phone line that stretches between them, so that there is no silence. …
Saskia Hamilton: World Poetry Day
Saskia Hamilton (1967- 2023) was my teacher when I was a student at Columbia. She was on the faculty at Barnard, and one of the first classes I took was her Poetics, a lecture of about thirty students. A couple years later, I took her Advanced Poetry Writing seminar. Can I start by saying I…
For you to Stay
If I could have lobbied the gods for you to stay,I would have sunk to my knees.Asked them to choose any price.Diamonds and gold and dignity forjust one change: all the times I was too tired,too impatient,turn them to kindness. And if their glacial eyes did not seem too shocked, I would add,let me remember to…
Ties that Bind
I’m going to tell you the story Da told me, and he says he got it from his own Da, Bill Verling. I don’t remember him – he died when I was about two – but Da swears up and down that Granda always spoke about what he saw that night in awe. Granda wasn’t…
“leukemia,” “die doktor,” “process & finale”
leukemia blood ate from his body wrapped in radiation. his tongue embrace the nectar that his mouth spills out. a hummingbird hovers above his lips—still nothing new. still the body caves onto itself. still there are little whispers to find the sick dying, & sick are dying. worms detect his eyes; sparrows discover the worms….
What about the Rain?
It was misting again. It felt like it was always misting, making everything constantly damp and unpleasant while weighing the air down. The young woman quietly pulled out a cigarette and lit it, feeling guilty and rebellious at the same time. She knew smoking was bad, but she didn’t care. It gave her an excuse…
Our Father
CW: Medical stuff. Grief: a universal language, and yet when spoken, nobody speaks back. A silence that echoes, and who to hear if one is without faith? Aimless prayers and purple knees, the concrete floor is cold, the silence is colder. Nobody is listening, but I’m not ready to stand up just yet. Odours of…