Homebound by Shaanzeh Nadeem | One Poem Only

0:00One poem only. Just for now, just for you, here's today's poem. Today's poem is by Shanze Nadim. Homebound. I often dream of other worlds, other lives. Stories tattooed beneath my skin since childhood, when the monsters were only ever under my bed, before they clawed their way into my head. I remember my grandmother's hands, carding through my hair, the sense of motia lingering on her skin, from the necklaces I wove for her. She would conjure up story after story, which to my young, romantic, fantastical heart, felt something akin to a dragon or two, being pulled out of a hat. Dream by dream, she built me safe spaces. I lived a thousand lives, and saw a thousand worlds. Those last four summers I had with her, part of me lives there.

1:02In those moments, in the gentle comfort of an afternoon nap, with my head resting on her shoulder in the dark, light seeping through curtains in burnt orange streaks. Back when every dream seemed inevitable, and every fear concorable, when this woman of soft steel seemed immortal, before I knew grief and loss and depression. No one ever prepares you for the bone-deep weiriness that settles into you once your childhood becomes memory. No one has spun me a story in a very, very long time, and no one understands why I cry, why I sip, jasmine tea. My safe spaces have long been abandoned. The dragons have been caged, the castles stripped of glory. The magic that was is faint, and yet I still feel it, the words, the worlds, the wonder,

2:06waiting for me in the dark. By Shanzinadim, you can find her on Instagram at Shanzinadim. Thank you for listening, poetry lover. If this poem moved you, share it with someone who needs it.