ISSN: 1941-4137
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
Seema Yasmin is a poet, doctor, professor and journalist. She lives in Texas by way of England. Her writing explores how religion influences sexuality and the ways in which women of color reclaim their bodies, sexual agency and power. She trained in journalism at the University of Toronto and in medicine at the University of Cambridge.
Ishra'aq (aunty's prayer)
my aunty is a psychic who taught me to pray
for protection
from black magic and white men
to soak mangoes in ice cold water before peeling
to roll limes between my palms before squeezing
to rub soap into pubic hair before shaving
that ritual began age thirteen
pink hot skin, white cold tub
mangoes bobbing in the kitchen
girl bleeding in the bathroom
aunty shrieking over lime juice
God protect the mother who does not put in her daughter's hand a razor blade
This poem is part of the chapbook, For Filthy Women Who Worry About Disappointing God, forthcoming from Diode Editions.
Glass: A Journal of Poetry is published monthly by Glass Poetry Press.
All contents © the author.
All contents © the author.
