Two Days in a Row in November I Died Twice

Tarfia Faizullah

I plan to die for good in the state

of Texas. What state

of mind will I be in that Saturday?

Yes, it must be a weekend; Saturdays

are for shampoo, sunning, silk.

Yes, silk will be what I die in. Silk,

though I love cotton best, worn & soft

as a slew of sweetly shirtless days. Soft

as the sacred eyes of a stranger

who sees in another stranger a stranger

version of a story

many of us shoulder. Every story

has a sunrise, a sunset, death, a few storms.

Between you and me, I love a strong storm.

Tarfia Faizullah is the author of Registers of Illuminated Villages and Seam. She currently teaches creative writing at the University of North Texas.
Originally published:
December 6, 2023

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