Meeting writers on the page since 1996

Showcase

Fathima Zahra

“Ramadan, 2019

We stalk the moon all month round, lick

our lips, till the Adhan goes off on our phones,

dig our teeth into the soft flesh of dates, wash

it down with Roohafza, rinse and repeat. The

scholars paste their eyes to the sky, the crowds

trade their eyeballs for telescopes, watch the

moon turn bashful, wait for henna stains

to appear, a gunshot signal to pull our smiles

out of the closet strutting in their Eid clothes.”

From ‘Sargam / Swargam’ – included in the showcase

“These poems are excerpts from my debut pamphlet ‘Sargam / Swargam’ (ignition press, 2021). I began putting together my manuscript in early 2019. At the time, this existed as a compilation of poems I had been performing and sharing at open mic nights, poetry slams and live events. They addressed recurring obsessions including belonging, girlhood and relationships.
From the Introduction