Your cart is currently empty!
Two Poems: Rebellion Box
A debut collection from multi-genre writer Hollay Ghadery, Rebellion Box (Radiant Press) considers big subjects: parenthood, gender roles, race and otherness, and our cosmic insignificance. Thoughtful and tender, many of the poems are rooted hyper-locally in small town Ontario but their connections are expansive and universal. Read two poems from the collection, below.
Two Poems from Rebellion Box
Braids
I don’t know if we’re meant for the stars but I still
like to hear his voice, see pictures of him, maybe
his wife, now and then. A handful of things to
wake me. Like sun stains. I used to
like to hear his voice, see pictures of him
lying with his hair in braids, then using
his wife, now and then. A handful of things to
help me here. I’m alive. I’m static. I’m
lying with his hair in braids, then using
the sun to part the trees and the trees to
help me here. I’m alive. I’m static. I’m
not listening to him breathe. I’ve designed
the sun to part the trees and the trees to
give way. Sure, he may pull through but I’m
not listening to him breathe. I’ve designed
an answer. The answer to everything is to
give way. Sure, he may pull through but I’m
not meant for the stars, or braids. I’ve designed
an answer. The answer to everything is to
hear his voice. See pictures of him, maybe.
Corpse Pose
at least there must always
be hands
clasped in prayer
dry and distant mountains
ears open next to eyes and
fleshy parts to hold, like
God’s final thought before bedtime
how it hangs, clipped.
I was born nostalgic
just looking out my window—gheir az
khuda hichkas nabood—
legs folded under me,
my cupped palms hold
no secrets—
one cannot
panic
quitters never rest or
regain the upper hand
so what if I begin
to cry despite myself? I
used to wish to
vanish. Now I
wish for a
xenagogue
yeki bood, yeki nabood
Zion is air rustling in my lungs.
* * *
Hollay Ghadery is a multi-genre writer living in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Her fiction, non-fiction, and poetry have been published in various literary journals and magazines. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions’ MiroLand imprint in Spring 2021. Rebellion Box is her debut collection of poetry.
* * *
To purchase a copy of Rebellion Box, click here.
For more from Two Poems, click here.
Tagged:
