The Uncanny
By Asra Mariam Jafarey
an abyss of mourning, longing, lies
biting my fingers as i gaze into
your eyes your eyes your eyes
a whimper, trembling lip, abba clutching a pillow
mental math, receding touch, the smoke seeping out my bathroom window
i think about how every feeling is a colour
how love was meant to grow in the summer
as i scrape the debris off an old palette
i hope to create something that bears a truer semblance to this ballad;
of motia, thumb pins, crimson and forgotten sins
sometimes I look at my hands
sometimes they aren’t my hands
(kabhi kabhi main apne haathon ko dekhti hoon
kabhi kabhi apne nai rehtay)
Asra Mariam Jafarey is an English major from Pakistan who runs her own poetry account on Instagram @lilacfingertips.