tether

uncle suleiman always had a gift for me
each time he came
he would bring a hair pin
a necklace or a bracelet
but never his pocket watch
which was among my favorite
i remember the way he’d
hold it in his wavering hands
the way its silver chain
reached into the very vein
of his captive youth
waiting to be discharged
waiting to be home again

Sarwa Azeez, a Kurdish poet, researcher, and translator, is a Fulbright alumna who earned her second master’s in Creative Writing from Nebraska-Lincoln University. Her debut poetry pamphlet, “Remote,” published by 4Word in 2019. Nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Orison’s Best Spiritual Literature, Sarwa’s work graces numerous publications including Parentheses Journal, Writing for A Woman’s Voice, The International Journal of Genocide Studies and Prevention, the other side of hope, Collateral, and more. Her writing looks for the beauty in a war torn world. It also seeks to define identity and confront issues of equal gender representation and violence in male dominant communities.