2 poems by noor hindi

BODY SHEDDING ITS OWN BODY

​I’ve been running        along the outskirts
of Akron searching     for a place to put
all of this body   feeling like I’m just
a broken brake pedal        can’t stop
 
thinking           about how my father   
is made of gasoline         you should
see       how he makes everything
 
burn      like our hardwood floors     my mother
’s    tongue      the glass coffee tables     clocks 
set 35 years backwards            beige love seats
deflated pillows     porcelain cups      my skin
 
keeps                glowing    a bright
ember listen    to the way       the fire
cracks  then sizzles listen
 
sometimes there’s nothing        you can do                
but strip   to bone  so that there’s         nothing         
more                  to  burn. 

KEEP CLEAR OF ME: I AM MANEUVERING WITH DIFFICULTY

​Because  it’s  5  A.M  &  I  am  hung  over
sobbing  about   polar  bears   &   climate
change  &  how the moon won’t answer
my  calls.    Because  my  brain  feels  like
Jell-O   &  I am thinking about autumn  &
how   I  feel  more  like  those  leaves  you
drag into a building  with your boots  than
anything   else.     These   days,   I  require
assistance,   more   broken    burrito  than
grape on a vine.    I might be on fire.   I am
dragging   my  anchor  through  this  giant
sea,   73%  of   me   hoping  to  drown.   &
speaking  of water the clouds keep raining
steel as I try to nourish this lavender plant
which my therapist recommended I do.  &
while we’re on  the  topic  of  therapy  who
the fuck decided it’s a good idea  to  sit  &
talk   about   your   feelings  to  a  random
fellow  human.     It  feels  like  cutting  the
grass  with a  cheese grater  or something
​like that.

​**Title and some lines of the poem “Keep Clear of Me: I am Maneuvering with Difficulty” taken from the children’s book Alpha, Bravo, Charlie: The Complete Book of Nautical Codes by Sara Gillingham**
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Noor Hindi is a University of Akron student who is majoring in English and minoring in Creative Writing. After graduation, she hopes to pursue her MFA in poetry. Her poems have appeared in Jet Fuel Review, Diode Poetry, Whiskey Island Magazine, and Polaris Literary Magazine. Hindi is currently a poetry reader for BOAAT Journal and Rubbertop Review. Check out her poetry blog at nervouspoodlepoetry.com.