Rekha naps through the day because
The sky makes her blue. 

She halved the mango like the moon,
Passed the pip to Parveen.

When twilight overstayed 
She thought the night would never come.

She waited for love to come home.
When it didn’t,
She threw away all the clocks in the house,
But could still hear the ticking.

Rekha swung from a tree until the pendulum came to a halt. 
The wind froze over the hour.

The fortune teller stopped tapping her fingers.
She touched my arm, said
It is sad how we endure this pain.
When she looks closely, she can see my face dissolving.
And when it does
I trap myself inside her crystal ball.

Poem by Raheela Suleman