Silver tipped wings roar to a stop

on tarred tarmac melting in the noon-day heat

I step out enveloped by the warm breeze

comfortably stirring buried memories

Of oven rose petal bracelets tied to wrists

sipping Kahva, hot, spicy, refreshing

laughing again to nothing

As glass bangles are chosen

Giving coins generously to outstretched palms

Of maimed bodies with Angelic faces

As beautiful as our love

why do I keep coming back to open old wounds

To a heart once pierced

I wonder?

~Nafisa Aug  22, 2026

In my little corner

There is a small door in the corner of my chest,

heavy with dust and decades of moving forward.

I locked it behind me when the world got loud,

thinking I was leaving behind the sadness,

not realizing I was actually leaving behind a good part of me.

Inside, the air is preserved in amber.

A younger version of me sits on the floor,

knees pulled tight, watching the keyhole,

waiting for the sound of familiar footsteps.

He counts the years in ticking clocks and quiet shadows,

wondering what kind of adult promises were made

that kept me from ever returning to pick him up.

I carry the key in my pocket every day,

warm against my hip,

yet I keep walking past the threshold, 

afraid to step inside,

afraid to face the child who still wonders

why I left him behind in the dark.

-fazli Aug 21 2026