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A Chapter full of Living Things

From scrutinized skin, a collective loathing volcanoes, truly alive.

June 15, 2022

It’s the tree,’ said the dryad shortly.
‘What’s it doing?’ said Rincewind.
‘Living.’
    -Terry Pratchett

and the eyes. the fever
of their gaze. being watched.
being smelt

from one haze. being herd
with our-coloured,
our-tongued, our-haired/

head-covered. skin
like one sky
cut out as rubber

sheets. talking
of the same swords,
same haste & honey. tilling

the same loam
& lumber & lamb & loathing.
loathing that volcanoes.

walls & wells
it forms. that which
swells and of which swallows

as ours. now it’s living.
only now it’s
living.

📖
PART OF A COLLECTION

A Chapter full of Living Things and 4 other poems

View Full Collection →

Dr. Rahana K Ismail

Dr. Rahana K Ismail is the author of ‘Newtness’ released by Yavanika Press in 2022. Her poems have been featured or are forthcoming in the Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English (2021, 2022), The Penn Review, The Lighthouse, Usawa Literary Review, Muse India, POSIT, Alchemy Spoon, Ink Sweat and Tears, Barzakh, Bending Genre, nether Quarterly, Contemporary Haibun Online, Aainanagar, Aleph Review, Chakkar, Alipore Post, Last Leaves, Farmer-ish, Stone of Madness, Foxglove, Hakara, Qissa, Verse of Silence, Pine Cone Review among others. She has read her poems as a panelist of the session ‘Defiance and Daughters’ in the Glass House Festival 2024.

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