7/12/2020 POETRY: MANAHIL BANDUKWALAI WAKE WHEN THE BIRDS TELL ME THEY WANT TO DREAM i. a form gathers sweat on every surface skin touch feathers touch skin pull wings apart leave pile of quills outside bedroom window hot air blows around ii. it is springtime animals come out of hiding iii. i try for lucidity through sachets of promised tea aftermath of sex lies in warm laundry piles bird tells me not to worry it sings a melody in my ear just before i wake i can’t help but listen iv. the bird is the first to believe me when i say i spun clouds into silkworms the night before every house was a beacon lit up beyond mesh behind reflection of candlelight in smokescreened sky v. chlorophyll can’t handle early dawn rays vi. i match the bird’s tune with a wooden flute it tells me please stop some songs are not mine to play Manahil Bandukwala is a writer and visual artist. Her most recent project, Reth aur Reghistan, is a collaboration with her sister, Nimra, in which they research folklore from Pakistan and interpret it through poetry and sculpture. See more about the project at sculpturalstorytelling.com. She is the author of two chapbooks, Paper Doll (Anstruther Press, 2019) and Pipe Rose (battleaxe press, 2018). She was the 2019 winner of Room magazine's Emerging Writer Award, and was longlisted for the 2019 CBC Poetry Prize.
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