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Did You Know

Iman Saif

Structured like a nursery rhyme, “Did You Know” conveys themes of ignorance effectively with additional help from repetition and beautiful imagery.

Did You Know

Did you know
That today
I saw a green shark with birds for eyes,
Who hated the sea but loved to eat flies,
Who hated to swim but loved to hear his mother cry…
His mother has a winged blueberry pie!

Did you know
That one time
I heard that a kitten’s heart is in its head,
That yesterday I bled
The color blue and green and purple but not red,
That a baby rhinoceros…
Will eat its mother, once she’s dead!

Did you know
That yesterday
I heard about a girl named Ash,
Who was found in a car crash,
In the same car as her high school math teacher

(or was it the town preacher?)

Her top off and with mangled features…
What a man eater!

Did you know
That when I was five years old
My mother told me
To stay away from the little boy in my class,
With skin like ebony glass
With a name that sounded like fresh Somalian grass,
With a toothy white smile who looked sweeter than treacle,
Because his father went to timeout for big people,
And left his mother with another father
Who smelled like daddy on Saturdays
And left pink and blue and purple marks
On her skin ever
Single
Day…
Oh what a display!

Did you know
That whatever I say to you,
you might not believe
And I might sound like i’m stupid and annoying and naive.
But what I say will stick in your head and absolutely will not leave
Your conscience and your mind
Until you tell everyone around you,
Tell everyone what I told you like your tongue is blind
Until you talk talk talk and talk
About a person you’ve never met
Until you ruin their life with zero regret
For them or their family or their friends,
But it doesn’t matter because
you just told one person
Just
A single
person.
Right?

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Ecloga

Nandini Sharma

I chose Nandini’s poem because it expresses the message in a unique way and uses vivid imagery to appeal to the readers.

Ecloga

It embodies Her flesh and bone,
Like quick blood, it flows through her.
Pulsating through nooks even she hadn’t seen.
It’s bright here. The warm red fills her and the irises don’t scare her anymore.
They are excited, hoping the day last longer before the colour consumes her and she fears it again.

The oblivion of this colourful blindness blissfully rules her.
Her hunger rises, so feed her.
The tiles have turned, this dancing figure stares at her and the jest lurks behind her.
It’s light here for the yellow shines upon her.

The faces aren’t frightening and her strength is bold as lightning.
Coal embers burning brightly and sparks flaming lightly,
It’s rousing, just slightly.
So she writes, she writes the makes of her,
She writes the endless states of me, paints the numerous shades of me.

For I am Her and She is me.
Her poetry embodies Me flesh and bone.
The rhyme comforts me, it cultures me.
And I, am, satisfied…

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Seasoning

Ismail Eldessouky

I like how simple and absurd the poem is. It’s funny and easy to connect with both of the characters. 

Seasoning

Hi

Hi

I think salt tastes bad

Ok

Do you think salt tastes bad?

No

Why

I like it

Why

Why do you think it’s bad

What

Why do you think it’s bad

It tastes bad and ruins food

I think it doesn’t

It does

I think it doesn’t

It does

Ok

Have you always thought salt tastes good?

Yes

You should be ashamed

Why

Think of all the people who don’t like salt

Why

You monster

Why

People everywhere get salt put on their
food when they dont want it

Why don’t they just ask to get rid of it

They can’t always do that

Then don’t go to restaurants

That’s unreasonable

So?

All people should be able to go to restaurants

They can

Not if there’s salt

That’s their choice

It’s not though

It is

But they can’t eat salt

That’s their choice

They can’t eat salt

That’s their choice



You don’t understand

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My First Breath Under the Horizon

Nirjhar Deb

I chose Nirjhar’s piece because his use of language creates images and feelings beyond the text. It’s peaceful and plunges you into what it’s like to explore the deep blue sea.

My First Breath Under the Horizon

Waves bathed in crimson red and yellow dashes.
Clouds smeared with streaks of orange and cherry.
Sky flavored with hints of saffron and mustard.
And then, there was me, at the brink of horizon.

Fully armored in goggles, tanks, and neoprene,
Currents rocking me back and forth,
I pressed the button on my wrist and took a deep breath,
And descended into the darkness.

For the mere moment, my eyes sealed,
My heartbeat plunged to the depths,
And my breath held for eternity.
I, a machine, rendered obsolete in a new world.
 
The deep blue seeped into my goggles,
As the metallic air filled my lungs.
A stream of bubbles rushed to the surface,
As I opened the door to Poseidon’s world.

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Just the Beginning

Maha Siddiqui

When she came out
The news given it was a girl
Another woman to put in the house
And lockup
Another mouth to feed
Another burden to the world
A girl
Not even a person
A thing
Something useless
At least they can get rid of her soon
Born a girl
They expect her to do work
God put her on this earth
To serve
No life
Nothing
She had dreams, hopes
Plans
Wanted an education
But she was told no
Rejected
For something so valuable
Its only for boys they told her
Because boys were angels
They could bring money
They were given a life
Unlike her
And she drooled for the thing she desired
An education
But soon she hits the age
And is considered dirty
And at night she sleeps
In a shack
Away from her family
And soon enough
The time has come
And she is married off
At only 15 years old
To a man she never knew
Far older
And over there
They treat her like an animal
As a slave
Not human
As a burden
Punishing with death
And she is told to work
Serve her husband and his family
Whom she barely knows
And at night
He forces her into things
She doesn’t want
And she’s screaming
And from the other room
You can hear her
Crying on her mat alone
On the cold floorWith a man
Who abuses her, assaults her, beats her
Yet no one comes
And she is alone
In the dark
Facing horrors every single day
Wishing for it to end
But she can’t leave
Because where would she go
Her family doesn’t need her
She is afraid
But she has hope
And sees her chance
And one night when she looks at
The glimpse of the moonlight shine through the cracks in the wall
She escapes
Walking alone in the lonely night till the bright morning
Hearing the car motors, and smelling the street food
The shouting vendors, and the walking school children
Seeing it for the first time
A new world
Her eyes lit up
And she sees the school
She touches for the sky
And prays for an education
Then turning towards the road ahead
She sees her life
And she walks away knowingThis is just the beginning