By: Rasha Alduwaisan
Finger Spaces
abirdinapot
words need to breathe my love
they need space try again
this time put a finger
between a and bird
bird and in sit down
leave your brother alone look
at the lamp posts outside
no you cannot go
outside
see how each one stands
away
boring is a bad word
look at the trees their roots
need soil, so much soil
fine let’s go
put this on no
the other way come here
stay next to me
hold this soil stroke these roots
stay away from that man
stay away from that box
don’t touch that bird.
The Rumor Factory
looks more like a laboratory –
our deeds dissected
by faceless bodies,
our selves splayed out
on marble countertops,
reconfigured,
powdered & packaged.
I have always kept my steps
silent, my voice soft,
as though I had small creatures
sleeping under my clothes,
their fur against my skin.
I found comfort in the
unpeopled places, parks
at dawn, markets at dusk,
museums off season.
Trees could never snatch
stories from my lips.
Lately, however, I have felt
a tautness in my chest,
like the tug of claws,
loud gasps as I try to fall asleep.
Tonight, I invite my demons
to the warm glow of this table,
stroke them with my pen,
fill their lungs with air.
The Wash before the Wash
for the mushrooms
on my spoon,
scatter of spores,
butter down the drain.
The wash before the wash,
for the cells in her breast,
the bones I cannot reach,
cannot scrape clean.
The wash before the wash,
for the machine in my head,
the voice ringing, rinse and repeat,
rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.
Rasha Alduwaisan is a Kuwaiti oral historian. Her poetry has been published in The Cordite Poetry Review and was selected to appear on The Poetry School’s website. She holds an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University.
Interview with the Poet:
Cathexis Northwest Press: How long have you been writing poetry?
Rasha Alduwaisan:
About seven years. CNP: Can you remember the first poem you read that made you fall in love with poetry?
RA:
One of my most treasured books as a child was A.A. Milne’s Now We Are Six and I remember being enraptured by Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott” when I was at secondary school.
But the words of Zeina Hashem Beck are what turned my affection for poetry into something much deeper. Her poems touch on social, cultural and political realities in this part of the world in a way that is so relatable, powerful, tender and beautiful. “Maqam” and “Naming Things” are two of my favorites.
CNP: Who are your favorite poets? Any specific poems?
RA:
Zeina Hashem Beck, Sharon Olds, Rita Dove, Tishani Doshi, Ada Limon, Charles Wright, Rumi, Maggie Smith, Elizabeth Bishop, Safia Elhilo. CNP: Can you share for us a little bit about your writing process? Any specific rituals that get you in the zone?
RA:
My thoughts need momentum in order to take shape, so I like to brainstorm, free-write and carry the ideas with me everywhere. I love this immersive, generative part of the process – it feels like moving to music nobody else can hear.
CNP: How do you decide the form for your poems? Do you start writing with a form in mind, or do you let the poem tell you what it will look like as you go?
RA:
Most of my pieces are in free verse. I gravitate toward shorter lines but tend to let the poem take the lead.
CNP: Any advice for poets who have yet to find their voice?
RA:
Enroll in classes. Find a mentor you admire. Read widely to see what resonates. Journals are brilliant as they show us the many ways poetic voice can manifest itself. Poetry podcasts can also offer such intimate insights into the creative process.
CNP:
What is your editing process like?
RA:
Daunting! It involves lots of tinkering with word choice, syntax, line breaks and rhythm. I try to draw out the thread of a poem, re-stitch and cut away what feels unnecessary. The scraps are kept in a figurative pouch I can dip into when writing other pieces.
CNP: When do you know that a poem is finished?
RA:
I rarely feel like a poem is finished – only pinned down at certain moments in time.