CULTURE, POETRY & PROSE, THE ARTS

The Partition

The Partition is known to be the world’s largest mass migration, displacing 14 million people and killing another million. Following the British Raj’s withdrawal from undivided India in August 1947, the Radcliffe Line was drawn between the newly independent nations of India and Pakistan. The task of demarcating the boundary between India and Pakistan was […]

Read more
CULTURE, POETRY & PROSE, THE ARTS

Grief in August

And so I write to my Rabb this time… Whenever August rolls around I become numb.  From the Partition to Article 370, and the martyrdom of Imam Hussain.  I can’t help but cry uncontrollably.  August is the month I pour my grief onto the prayer mat.  I stay there for hours until my tears turn […]

Read more
POETRY & PROSE

November Melodies

Oh you chipped, red-rusted leaves, swinging to and fro’,  beneath the yel-low— scattered, blanched, frayed   You stayed a little longer this year: Knowing that hearts cannot help but long to witness the morning song of your ever-beating autumn: Just another November Melody

Read more
FEMINISM, POETRY & PROSE, POLITICS

Trip

Off to Washington D.C. I go— Because I need to know about Roe. And what is it about Roe you ask?   Here is where I drop my mask.   How Great can this old country be? When it’s obvious you are not free If you can carry a pregnancy?   You can’t get pregnant? […]

Read more
LIFE, POETRY & PROSE

Zero

Zero   I now take a bow I give what was never given And have much more   The energy never dies Even when the body connects with the floor   It transcends into the world Quiet feels like peace Not “alone”   Saturated in potential Fingers lace around the stars   Scars embellish this […]

Read more
POETRY & PROSE, POLITICS, WORLD ISSUES

3:164

I would love to just tell you a story of liberty But that would be unjust for my people And not very liberating for me Just a century ago stories of smiles were told But lo and behold Al-Aqsa was raided Oh, how the people turn their heads and wear blindfolds I too, was born […]

Read more
CULTURE, LITERATURE, POETRY & PROSE

Frankly, my dear, I do give a damn

This honest review of Hazem Fahmy’s Waiting for Frank Ocean in Cairo was in exchange for an Advance Reading Copy provided to the author by Half Mystic Press. . . . In the spirit of full confession, that unsolicited offering that often makes for great poetry, I had never listened to Frank Ocean before I […]

Read more
LIFE, POETRY & PROSE

Where does our childhood go?

Featured Illustration: ‘Swing of Love’ by Darshan Sompura Where does our childhood go When we force ourselves to grow Does it sit in the broken swings Hugging itself tight, yearning For a warmth that will never come Does it lie under the covers Shining a bright light in the middle of the night Hoping for […]

Read more