In Time (a poem in two parts)

Ziqra Zarook, Sri Lanka

1/2

to crave touch, open handed caress
eyes half closed in the moonlight,
the shadows of your face in harsh contrast
night
a witness to our reptilian shedding
inhibition as a second skin-
(heart of moondust, fleeting)

to place violence against throat
and trust the knife to never
cut
voices caught in the stirring;
we search for familiarity,
(the universe is faceless here)
silver dripping down tree into river
drowning our bodies;
night
comes to claim us as her own
wings of starlight unravel
against skin and teeth and lip
dewdrops of joy at the edge of the world,
away from the sun, you and I,
furthest thing from Icarus,
drowning in salt-heavy waters.

2/2

to welcome touch, all callous and wear
against sun-warm skin, eyes glazed
like honey spilling unchecked
light
fractured and spectral
witness to our metamorphosis
(human to holy on still water)
to lie beneath the water
and let it do as water does-
flow
around ankles, calling us home

the universe wears your face here
(mirror to this age-old heart)
lips dripping bronze down chin and throat
to catch the sun glinting off of bodies;
light
freezing us in time
immortalised in the ways of old
gnarled trunk of a tree twisted on itself
bursts of joy held suspended in time
you and I no modern-day Persephone
forgotten except in change,
live on in stolen time.

Ziqra is a Sri Lankan-born medical student looking to connect with the larger world through literature and poetry. Her works revolve around growth, mental health and changing perceptions. She has been published in various undergraduate magazines and online journals.