readers submission

POETRY / I loved you because I did

So go in peace, be free, be kind.

FICTION / A sacrifice

When he was handing over the money to Naimuddin, their father, Kalam silently cried, holding Dholi’s neck in the yard.

POETRY / Will you remember me?

When moon fades into dawn and when I pass away with it / Will you think of all that I was?

Poetry / Tupperware cake

1 and 3/4 cups of sugar, 2 cups of i-love-you

REFLECTIONS / The Doppelgänger

It was actually a bit of a relief to sit on the terrace of the Gezira Pension and have a quiet breakfast before plunging back once more into the traffic of Cairo in search of a carriage to the museum.

POETRY / My heart's longevity comes from my maa's magnifying kindness

Maa, you are an endless exhibition / of sweet-sour happiness

FICTION / City of bougainvillea

“The roads are too clean. The sun is too bright,” she thought.

FICTION / Shadhin

Sumedha replied with annoyance, "I will make him say the words. It's so simple, 'Apni kemon achhen, bhalo?' Why can't he say it?"

POETRY / Anger and other blessings

A walkway through the crystal-clear lies

March 2, 2024
March 2, 2024

The last crime against humanity

The only way they chose to do this was probably written or imprinted in our genes–a wild frenzy of carnal expressions filled their faces.

March 2, 2024
March 2, 2024

My Parents’ Window

Years later, when I would no longer live in my parents' room and grow to have my own,/ I would disregard all the hours I had spent by the window staring at beetles hiding.

February 17, 2024
February 17, 2024

Interim

That was the first time in my life I’d smelled charred meat. I could tell it was different from the kind you’re supposed to eat, and my mother had to hold me as I threw up violently on the side of the street.

February 7, 2024
February 7, 2024

Love is a law

For once, can love look like a Sunday morning; filled with warmth, calmness and motionless?

January 20, 2024
January 20, 2024

A Dream Of Gaza

What happens when your desire Lies in being alive?

January 20, 2024
January 20, 2024

Lunatic Crow

Lacerating the unfortified,/ Picking at the flesh for bad blood to find

January 13, 2024
January 13, 2024

Of hills, lakes, and loss

Bury your feet where its green And when the air is thin you will see 

January 13, 2024
January 13, 2024

No door

His five sons/ Were killed and the books...

January 10, 2024
January 10, 2024

White-eyed Corpse

The beast bellowed below Mushfiq’s bedroom window, propelling rushes of tingles within him. He smiled.

December 29, 2023
December 29, 2023

Inside

She’s as real as my meandering/ As tangible as tinkering.