POEM TO BE READ FROM RIGHT TO LEFT

(after Marwa Helal)

sewing her. violence it called one no
bolt abandoned an from culled thread a
sprout jasmine
image to like I, slept daughters her where shed wooden from
soundly

them smell can I think to like I
what working
violence called one no
Fabric call not did they fabric the of out, up

night lush, night the into and
respite some
he from
see to light his shine to has who
hands their
parchment living the into us ushering

*

bed into crawl to asking woke son his when
wound narrow a made he
women the blankets the in
boy the did. In boy the let and sown had
It of think
labor their? violence as
see never will I. Him acommodated
smoke and palms between, here from
hands their grazing knees his morning every

---

Nilufar Karimi is a poet, translator and educator. She is the author of Nuclear Deal (Noemi Press, 2021) and Notes on Digging (Belladonna* Collaborative, 2022).

Background photo by Yasmin Rojas