after Izumi Shikibia and Nizar Qabbani Dew kissed ferns unfurl in silence. Sea relentlessly blankets shore. How many times will I betray, only to find myself in this mountain’s shade? You watch as I fade into forest. The earthly scent of cedar stirs longing. My every footfall, in any direction, can only lead me back to you. What gentle hearth this stillness is,  nestled in your arms again. Wind and rain reduced to memory Caressing this cabin’s windowpanes. Nothing, Save the full moon’s light  Can reach me here. it’s all ephemeral except the One Rooted in the rainy Pacific Northwest, Efemeral’s multilingual written verse and spoken word performance entwine reflections on faith, language and the human psyche. Her latest English works have been published in the anthology, “A Kaleidoscope of Stories” published by Lote Tree Press. She has pieces in anthologies by Rumi Center for Spirituality and the Arts and was also published in The Puritan’s 2019 issue, “What Does It Mean to be a Muslim Writer?”. Her Arabic poetry is currently featured in the …

اللهم صل وسلم على الذي يسعى إليه كل من ضل السبيل عدد أنوار القوافل والراكبات وعدد المسافرين ‏والقادة فمن تمت رحلته جوار الحبيب فقد رزق في رحلته بكل ما أراد we who have lost our way pray: Ya Allah, send Your Peace and Blessings upon our Compass our Northern Star  our Drinking Gourd  as many times as there are lights  leading caravans and cars headlights and stars and as many times as there is light on the faces of travelers and wanderers for we know, whosoever concludes their journey by his side has reached a destination  sought by every guide it’s all ephemeral except the One Rooted in the rainy Pacific Northwest, Efemeral’s multilingual written verse and spoken word performance entwine reflections on faith, language and the human psyche. Her latest English works have been published in the anthology, “A Kaleidoscope of Stories” published by Lote Tree Press. She has pieces in anthologies by Rumi Center for Spirituality and the Arts and was also published in The Puritan’s 2019 issue, “What Does It Mean to …

the avenues of loss don’t get any fewer this side of living. to the pilgrims who cling to the rope by one halal haribo. when in childhood wonder we learned to multiply and divide we didn’t account for those exponential paths to a seventy year hollowing or that one indivisible road less travelled. to the promised land. to the seekers who collapse with the weight of revelation until the banks of beating hearts and tired translucent skin stretches to accommodate the latest transgression’s emotions. for those this side of living. perhaps the honey of a magnanimous word will be harvested where the grass is most definitely greener. perhaps a colony of ants pour to devour the sweetness that will pile in your hands. here’s for hoping for a blessed sleep. because barely does the eye adjust to tentative light only to be swallowed by darkness again. here’s to praying and wishing. here’s to us, the class of this millennium somehow surviving three darknesses, somehow becoming the clay niche where the sun sets. Soukeyna Osei-Bonsu is a …