city of
heat waves and dust particles
light
distilled into so many colors—
gold / gold / gold / gold
stanced in a way to stay put / quivering
i knew when i had it
lost it—
when it all became the same / collapsed
goldgoldgoldgold
city of hail and monsoon
un-orientalized
bata teri raza kya hai
orientalized
i forget how to see ourselves
city of cold fog
why do we leave? to make home plural
why do we leave? to leave
why do we leave? to return
the night i returned i dreamt of so many colors
they built pillars of dust amidst the fire—
gold / gold / gold / gold
for Fatima
Selina Mahmood recently graduated from medical school and has had work published in The Manhattanville Review, The Conglomerate, Blood and Thunder: Musings on the Art of Medicine, and others. She has also written book reviews for HuffPost. huffingtonpost.com/author/selina-mahmood
