Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! Tamara MC—Poetry I’m nobody, who are you?— Emily Dickinson Diss-HER-tation speaking: I am a collage. I am a woven fabric. I am past. I am present. I am future. I am a scrapbook. I am a note. I am a list. I am an altar. * I repeat […]
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! I’ve heard all these years about the bunks and their hardness. I’ve never felt them. I’ve only heard their stories. But, now I’m in a bunk, and I probably shouldn’t be here. I’m breaking rules as usual. I want to feel what this hard surface feels like […]
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! IThe inside out Changing personOther voicesComfortable knowingThis discussion doesn’t end but continuesthroughout writingInterwoven like the knitted “Habiba” sweater woven by Nargis in 1985. Marginalized no moreWriting, an action, a rebellion against those with the power saying to you, “I am free”My words are no longer hidden. They […]
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! I am: Curing I am: Being brined in salt I am: Marinating in ginger I am: Roasting with peppers I am: Baking in an oven my mother gave me when I married I am: Toasting I will: Make myself toastier for you Do you: Want me with […]
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! Each night, for five nights, before I went to bed, I imagined him. I imagined exactly what he would look like. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skin. He was tall—he had to be over 6-foot. I imagined his face with full lips, high cheekbones, […]
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! Khan el-Khalili © 2010Until you have experienced Khan el-KhaliliSmack dab in the center of Al’Qahira, Cairo you have not livedThe heat in the summer and the excruciating bone cold of the winterYour fi ngers damp and cold to the touch in December and JanuaryAnd still sweat dripping […]
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! Rosaries to melook like yoursBut ours are called tasbihsWe wear ours around our necks; we wrap them several times around our wristsThey come with us on appointments,They keep us company when we go to bed.Our rosaries are made of rare woods,from Syria, Turkey, and DubaiSome are made […]
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! My sons in Dhaka, Bangladesh, for their Aqiqah, an Islamic tradition. It is usually done when a child is seven days old, but it can be done until puberty. Symbols of Hope Every 30 or so years, Ramadan and Passover coincide. My mother is Jewish; my father is Muslim. […]
Want to listen to the article? Great–listen here! Triplets Tamara MCPOEMWe named them: Fuchsia, Turquoise, and Black Ivory.The moment they were fertilized, before they had even become fetuses,everything about them had been genetically determined.How do you speak about losing three babies? Technically they weren’tbabies, but blobs—fertilized eggs that had turned from two cells, to fourcells, […]