Five years ago today, then 22-year-old Syrian blogger and poet Tal al-Mallouhi was detained and questioned about her blog entries, which included poetry and social commentary on issues such as the plight of Palestinians, as well as calls for freedom, peace and tolerance. She was sentenced by the Damascus State Security Court to five years in prison and is reportedly being held in solitary confinement.
Business in brides is booming in north-west India as a result of female foeticide, but the women bought and sold are often trapped in lives of slavery and abuse, writes Anu Anand
throw my body in the garbage
where it belongs. surround it
with 500 cameras circling around
snapping one frame at a time as
flowers push their way through
the skin. i am in heaven watching
this footage with god and she
kisses me where my forehead
would have been. all the clouds
and mountains look fake from here.
airplanes mean everything to me.
i dream of my old body getting
sucked into their engines and
spat back out all pretty. there
must be someplace where this
is actually happening.
for two weeks every year the sky clears itself.
i go outside. it’s cold for here
and i am grateful. i am so grateful
to be alive at a time like this.
there are many leaves in the world.
there are less trees than leaves because that makes sense.
everything makes sense.
god, i love it. something happens and i feel it right away.
i don’t have dreams or anxiety attacks anymore.
you could walk right up and kill me and i’d be dead.
i wouldn’t have to live another twenty years
wondering why you did it.
Why you should be collecting these pocket-sized gems and the answer to your question, “What’s a chapbook?”
There Are Men …
Who are at once scalpel and salve.
They have only one spigot for honey or gasoline,
and you don’t know which you will get until it hits
your tongue. Sip slowly. Protect the soft palate.
They will whittle you until you become
the loneliest statue on the planet. Some days
this will make you feel special and singular.
Your pedestal will be dizzying. When you
and the other muses lean toward one another,
some of you will shatter. This is to be expected;
this was always the plan. There will be more of you;
there always are, always have been.