PRAYER

o calloused cocoon.

beardless bird.

o distinct decimal.

o ethereal ether.

sharp silhouette.

grainy goblin.

o my opium!

tender thrush.

slick slack.

thick thud!

come crawl,

ur numerous

feet into me.

o mother of all

antlers. deer dream.

fractal ligature,

muscle me into

skin, into flesh,

into blood. i don’t

care for order. o sick

sphinx, o cavernous

carnivore, hunger

me into heat. o

helium, u noble

mfer—combust,

for once.

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Javeria Hasnain is a poet, translator, and educator from Karachi and the author of SIN (Chestnut Review, 2024).