Category: LIFE
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Goodbye, Arch: Sharing Sorrow
South Africa lost a much-loved leader in Nobel Peace laureate and Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu, in December 2021. A kind and principled man and the moral compass for our country both during apartheid and after democracy in 1994, he fought vociferously to bring about change. He was…
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Orange Bites
I sink my teeth into the skin of an orange child blossoming from the furtive beginnings of youth, hissing as ocherous juice spurts into my eyes, a vengeance siphoned from the soft muscle I pulled apart. In that moment of blindness, I can see Spring looming over my seated form,…
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My father
Featured Artwork: ‘Hand Studies Charcoal’ by Matt Mozgiel is meticulous lithe fingers cupping my cheeks toned from a thousand hours in latex gloves quivering with concentration and intent working tirelessly to come home to his daughter who’d barrel into his fatigued arms and the exhaustion would evaporate is gentle…
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A Daughter’s Take on Fatherhood
My father, vivacious— a mouth full of leaves and amrut, splurting and gushing between the crooks in his teeth, a call to the boy who punched him square in the face in a brawl on the streets of Gujranwala, the nuts he cracked while playing cards, while dealing empty cigarette…
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The Ritual of Cooking Led Me Back to Myself
Featured Illustration: Alison Czinkota My earliest memory in the kitchen was at my grandfather’s elbow as he makes sweet potato pie, looking down at me, winking as he added an obscene amount of sugar. The scene continues to recreate itself. But I get taller, lankier, the kitchens change over time,…
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The Reality of Moving Abroad in Your 20s
Featured Image: Natalia Senanayake It’s been approximately four months and two days since I packed my bags and left my small suburban town for a new life in Barcelona, Spain. After all the chaos I experienced finding a place to live, opening a Spanish bank account, and adjusting to the…
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Gift
Featured Illustration: Rocío Montoya Mirrors bleed a blinding white, light fractured over fractured features. Wrapped across my body, I see white ribbon dyed into splotchy carmine, crisscrossing into makeshift thigh highs and babydoll lingerie. The slope of a neck and the fat of baby cheeks— curves are a tantalizing blessing,…
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Locket
Inside the rusted locket Lies the old burnt image From a time I can no longer see Of someone long lost But the more and more I look Over the eyes that still have their shine And trace the details of their face The more I get confused Were all…
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Planning the new year doesn’t have to be so exhausting
Featured Illustration: Abbey Lossing I’ve always loved celebrating the New Year. On December 31st, we’d feast as we waited for the clock to strike midnight, and I’d look up to the sky to admire the fireworks, despite harboring deep resentment for loud noises. In pre-pandemic times, my village hosted dinner…