Letting Go In Layers

By Inayah Fathima Faeez

Some part of us is cold and shrivelled,

In a body of seemingly endless depth.

Some part of us is heavy and dishevelled,

Misery filling an unending breadth. 

Some part of us is warm and blooming, 

Alive with tenderness birthed from memory. 

Some part of us is carefree and breathing,

With warmth bandaging wounds of misery.

Some part of us waits for an afternoon, 

Where there are no holes of absence to sew.

Some part of us waits for a full moon,

Under which loneliness is more of a gift than a woe. 

Some part of us is thankful for introspection,

For childhoods- pigtails and princess dresses.

Some part of us cherishes remembrance and reflection, 

The base colours for all our lively, artful messes. 

Some part of us aches to forget,

Hurtful words and those who left.

Some part of us wishes to pay off the debt, 

Owed to years devoid of life, to the youth once bereft.

Some part of us longs to remember, 

Summer days in passenger seats.

Some part of us starves for youthful September, 

Sandcastles and crayon sketches being prized feats. 

Letting go in layers, 

Of healing, but also,

Of holding on. 

Letting go with prayers, 

To relinquish, but also, 

To reminisce for another dawn. 

By Inayah Fathima Faeez