softly seeking serenity / Suhailah Ali

Meret Oppenheim's Gloves (1985)

Soft human skin

And all the while contained within

Blood and pain and fear and flesh

In wild attempts to stave off death

A body stitched together by recollections

Stitches that may slowly falter

Loosen and come apart

You wake up and think

Where do I start?

Pick up the little pieces

As words spin madly around and around

Crossing vast stretches of space and time in a single bound

Ephemeral ideas

If only you could touch –

If only the stitches would hold –

If only –

Vaporous existence

Trailing and drifting

And slowly disappearing

While this mad rock keeps spinning.

Suhailah grew up on a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean, with roots in the Indian subcontinent. She is now embarking on a PhD in psychiatric epidemiology, residing in Brisbane with a long-haired boy and an even longer dog. 

[published as part of pps/FORA #1]

#ppspoetry #suhailahali