8 April 2022
ramadan's greeting by Sanah Ahsan
In celebration of Ramadan, read Sanah Ahsan's evocative and rhythmic poem 'ramadan's greeting', and listen to an exclusive reading by the poet.
we pluck the new moon / out of mecca’s sky a lottery ball / make a guessing / of gods plan / first fast will be Thursday / chuss me! / nah fam / Friday / you’ll see! / it comes when it comes / the day tall and endless / we empty our stomachs / our senses / restless / sexless whizzing ablutions / can we wash ourselves of ourselves / want to / no longer / want what we don’t get / wait / witness the greed growl / grumble / gratitude in the vacant gut / we greet the god that is / more god / than the god we greet / the wanting never wanes / desperate desire / for the sun to sleep / mosques sealed / so we meet in open mouths / at the date’s wrinkled skin / bursting under bite / sweetness floods into / us / like the quiet dark of dusk / shadowless / hungry eater / of light Listen to an exclusive recording of Sanah Ahsan reading 'ramadan's greeting' below: [audio m4a="https://www.wasafiri.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramadans-Greeting-1.m4a"][/audio]
we pluck the new moon / out of mecca’s sky a lottery ball / make a guessing / of gods plan / first fast will be Thursday / chuss me! / nah fam / Friday / you’ll see! / it comes when it comes / the day tall and endless / we empty our stomachs / our senses / restless / sexless whizzing ablutions / can we wash ourselves of ourselves / want to / no longer / want what we don’t get / wait / witness the greed growl / grumble / gratitude in the vacant gut / we greet the god that is / more god / than the god we greet / the wanting never wanes / desperate desire / for the sun to sleep / mosques sealed / so we meet in open mouths / at the date’s wrinkled skin / bursting under bite / sweetness floods into / us / like the quiet dark of dusk / shadowless / hungry eater / of light Listen to an exclusive recording of Sanah Ahsan reading 'ramadan's greeting' below: [audio m4a="https://www.wasafiri.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramadans-Greeting-1.m4a"][/audio]
Sanah Ahsan is a poet, liberation psychologist and educator. She won the Outspoken Performance Poetry Prize. Recently, she's had poems shortlisted for The White Review Poet’s Prize 2022; Bridport Prize 2021; longlisted for the National Poetry Competition 2021 and the Frontier Poetry Prize 2021. Sanah is part of the BBC Words First Alumni. Her poetry has been broadcast on Channel 4 and BBC. The Guardian described Sanah’s poetry as 'an exhilarating declaration of love.' Sanah is currently writing her debut poetry collection with support from Arts Council England. Her website is here.
Cover photo via Wikicommons
