Morning-After Poem

Abstract

Morning-After Poem Noor Shahzad (bio) Morning-After Poem The morning began like this: with odorof a brief rain, January seepingthrough those cheapo Venetian blinds intothe seams of denim and underwear stillspilled across your carpeted floor, with BlindWillie Johnson still sounding the room, oursub rosa uproar rendered in his DarkWas the Night, with a loitering moon who—fat with latency, observes the world'svulgar endeavors. We submit to thebeer on our breath, meeting mouths in a MockOrange manner, bidding last night'sbacteria to daybreak. But the moon,the same Muslim moon my mother shovesprayers into, is a rat with light and knowledge,follows my rogue back home. I beg it toswallow me alive, and in that momentit dawns on me. [End Page 28] Noor Shahzad Noor Shahzad is an MFA candidate/Teaching Fellow at University of Massachusetts Boston. Her poems have appeared in Tinderbox Poetry Journal, Pittsburgh Poetry Journal, GASHER Journal, and 45th Parallel Magazine. Between writing and classes, Noor devotes her time to hip-hop music, the latest issue of Vogue, and her mother's phone calls. Copyright © 2020 University of Wisconsin Board of Regents