Issue 24 / Winter 2021 / Special Issue: Pleasure

the taste of the air
on a mid-summer evening
like a single breath could feed me for eternity
with the memory of your arms in mine
limbs locked like juniper
as you hum recollections of your past
memories lacking me.

a sweat drop slicks your hair to your forehead
and i fall for you as it reaches mine.

as you pull away
autumn appears
and again, i hunger.

Zara R. Ahmed (she/they) is a South Asian poet based in Toronto, Canada. Her work draws on and deconstructs themes of intimacy and isolation through the lens of atmospheric imagery. Zara’s poetry can be read online at @ahmzers on Instagram and Twitter.