sobs into the abyss
(dedicated to Kashmiri women)
late twilight…
mom’s forehead sweat
glints in the firelight
palm tree shadow
the outstretched hand
of a female beggar
crimson horizon
a gaunt girl shrinks
into the pashmina shawl
tattered pheran
flapping on the washing line
evening rhapsody
invisible spectrum
her face smudged
with kajal and soot
neap tides
the first snow settles
on her grave
chinar leaves
desolating
her last cry
crocus buds
the echoes of her children
out of snow
blood moon
his shadowwolf stalking
her blues
street barricade
the tumbleweed
of her entangled hair
Femku mag, Sept 2019
------------------------
nostalgia
I am sitting on a park bench that is a bit old and rusty now. I come here daily for the last seven months and find this place calm and soothing. The morning breeze plays with my rough and tangled hair, tickles my breath, and unfolds glimpses from the past. I close my eyes and imagine a time when we used to sit here for hours to think about our future, the future that reshaped our relationship, and reconnected us more deeply. Yes, I cherish all those memories that changed my life for good, and I cherish it as my glorified past.
morning solitude
the dappled light
on my back
---------------
baby’s breath the un(not)iced truth
snow in sumMEr The cOnfessiOns
metro train tracks outstretching her last cry
FemkuMag,August 2019, issue 15
---------------
the arc
of his fist
thunderbolt
cactus blossom
the way she paints
her love story
midnight rants
the heartbeat sound
after that
wiping
the spots off the glass
his last dinner
in between
the clink of dirty dishes
her self-talk
rare family dinner
the taste of red chili
burns the silence
home alone
mopping his footprints
he left behind
broken vase
the life I spent
piece by piece
window cracks
the jigsaw puzzle
of her marital life
FemkuMag, issue 14 (Femku Featured)
------------------------------
mammogram images overshadowing my self-identity
deep inside my purple bruises echoing rain
cold rain
taps on the window
after his departure
she feels a sharp pain
in her empty womb
the shards
of a dollhouse window
after war
she collects the remains
of her childhood
deep wrinkles
on her forehead
reshaping
the purple scars
of her hardship
FemkuMag, issue 13 (special edition)
------------------------------
child bride —
she insists on wearing
the daisy tiara
raven’s shadow all I have to surrender
preliminary diagnosis
the flying crows tattoo
on her back
FemkuMag, issue 12
------------------------------
homeless child counting pink dots the pellet gun
moonless night...
deepens the darkness
a mother’s lullaby
chinar leaves her untold story in the empty street
FemkuMag, issue 11
------------------------------
withered peony
her love story
after menopause
women’s day —
nothing has changed
except her Facebook status
women’s day light glints on every mirror
first crush the smile behind her silver braces
lunar eclipse the deep scars of self mutilation
FemkuMag, Issue 10 (Women's day special)
------------------------------
birthmark —
the black mole becomes
my identity
FemkuMag, Issue 8
