At night, I whisper the word for woman, then other, repeat again.

How does it feel to watch / the seeds of your destruction / walk away from you?

Still, I am begging to be forgiven for the love / of my life

In the first days, everything beckons / you.

I touch my tongue to bitter starlight

Of my heart, / my eyes. I stole your bifocals and we crashed into /
the kitchen table and all you could see was sunlight.

Together we are the best pretenders.

say desire, say cinder, say Pulau Pinang, my home

“Silence” and “Contending with ‘You’ After You Are Gone”

“Anthill,” “Jericho,” and “Tofino”

We are not rich, neither are we poor.

“@nature, i avoid you,” “my life newly painted is well,” and “@nature, teach me things”

I too wander the temple of knowing.

For you, I sing the same songs and read the same obit.

“Good morning. Happy Birthday of your favorite Ganesh. Love. Good Day.” and “Please don’t forget about your flu shot.”

An erasure of the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act 2016

Translated from Chinese

Only thought the smell of jasmine tasted like smoke.

I have done it again, crossing / outside the frame into / some brave, new world

Translated from the Persian