This selection, chosen by guest editor Kirsten Kowalewski, is from Othered by Seher Hashmi (Sanjh Publications 2021).
Fistful of Fireflies
Those stifling summer nights
When grown-ups grumbled and panted
Panted and cursed
Government, politician
In turns
"Have mercy Almighty!
Let raindrops fall
Let here be some light"
Huffs and puffs shuffled on lips
Temples throbbed like
Boiled egg in simmering water
Lemonade washed down, clammy necks
In pitch black darkness
Of power outage
Us, giggling girls
In sweaty sandals
Chased after
Sparkly sprites fluttering above
Across, around and all over
Note: Copies of Othered may be purchased from Sanjh Publications Pakistan. As very small press, they don’t have a website; orders can be placed via WhatsApp at +92-331-4686276.
seher hashmi is an expat poet/ satirist/ spoken word artist/ podcaster of Pakistani origin based in Bahrain. Two of her poetry collections called Othered & Nots hit shelves in the first quarter of the new millennium in 2021 and 2024 respectively. Her debut Othered won her the Daud Kamal Award for the best book of poetry 2021 from the Pakistan Academy of Letters. Her poems have been aired by The Poetry Place and are featured in The Poet, The Sunflower Collective, Tint Journal, etc. She has also founded a podcast for authors and poets called The Bookend.
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