By Guest BloggerSubmitted by Anonymous. Three labels I wear like silken brocade. You’ve designated them, I believe, “minority.” Count up their numbers, in billions, no less: 3.5, 1.6, 1.3. Minority? Next to America of course god I… I mixed up the order again. Freedom doesn’t come for free, minority. “If you are an alien (not…
By Hanan IssaThe womb. A charged notion Saturated with definitions like layers of old stamps, licked and impressed by thumbs of the past. A doorway to life blessed with blood and pain: The womb has endured a lifetime of oppression- It’s meaning dissected and dictated – why is life in the hands of the “weaker sex?” The…
By Ifrah AThe written word can have more power than the spoken. As I woke up to hundreds of notifications about International Women’s Day, I thought of how great and far women have come through time. Reflecting back on feminist campaigns and collectives, it really is inspiring that women are creating their own “her-story.” In an age…
By Amani Marie HamedI want to cut off my breasts and bury them in the dirt. I want to cut out my womb and burn it. If I can’t have or nurse children, will you stop treating me as though I am just a vessel? I want to starve myself so thin that my stomach goes flat and…
By nihalmubarakThey told her she couldn’t do it They told her she was too loud Too opinionated Too black But she laughed and she said, “Just wait. My day’s gonna come.” She climbed on top of rooftops And sang Whitney’s songs— Her voice was like honey But her words were raw fire She held her…
By Dena Igusti10:42 P.M. You are 2 hours and 42 minutes Past your curfew This is the 5th time this month How long will you leave your mother Worrying in the dark at night For someone else? You are too much like your father You think about your parents How you have been called spitting images Of one…
By Dena IgustiWritten by Dena Igusti and Marwa Adina. If I wrap my words around “God,” will they be protected? If I say god after every phrase, will they be preserved? Like I god LOVE god YOU god I god NEVER god LOVED god THIS god COUNTRY god THIS god COUNTRY god NEVER god LOVED god ME…
By Guest BloggerWritten by: Memoona Ahmed. This is a sonnet about estrangement from friends because of parents’ distrust of foreigners — and a message to mingle and utilise our strengths. After all, we are stronger together. An island on the bottomless ocean, Carved long ago with a curved butcher’s blade. Time and waters eroded the garden, That shrivelled,…
By Marwa AdinaHow many of you Are protesting Trump’s agenda But voted for him How many of you Will face God in church today But can’t look your Muslim neighbors in the eyes anymore How many of you Hold your children closer Knowing you allowed another family to lose theirs How many of you Will pledge allegiance To liberty…
By Marwa AdinaTo all my brothers and sisters Undocumented Green card holders Muslim Scared I, too, hold my breath in fear For I only got my U.S. Citizenship last year While they came for you first I know I am next Until they rid the country of us To finally become A land free Of immigrants
By nihalmubarakI asked you for forgiveness first With tears rolling down my cheeks, I bowed my head in shame, And told you I was sorry. With humility as my cloak And my mother at my side, I asked you to forgive us both. I closed my eyes and pictured a day Where I could stand beside…
By Dena IgustiI love myself I love you I tried to protect the both of us 2 truths, 1 lie More like 3 truths, 3 lies
By Guest BloggerWritten by Jasmine Ariff. As I looked up the sky, time ticking to eleven fifty nine, In the deep canopy the sizzling fireworks started, with a thousand lights and a whooping blast, Smiles, cheers, laughters and jitters played out However, I stood there aloft. Another Grey Sky; same sparks; same noise; But this…
By Guest BloggerWritten by Fay Abdulle. Come my love Permit our demons to breathe some fresh air They have been closeted in our cavities for so long Darling, Can our fiends play under the withering moonbright? Let their shadows cast over our nightly heavens So once again, our evils can marvel during the morning light.
By Guest BloggerI lived as an infant and became a child I roamed freely in my body And evolved when I was not ready Outside the flowers bloomed and spring begun And that morning, as I went to the bathroom I unwillingly died as a girl and became a woman
