Al-Waqi'ah [56:27]: before touching a lover by Qurat Dar

right to left  
.uoy ot esnes edam reven 
One from you and your siblings was born  
left-handed but nobody remembers  
ohw. You imagine fingers forgetting 
themselves, dexterity disappearing,  
a sense numbing itself out of shame, 
wonder what your mind has bent 
your body to, all to make things 
  right.

This poem was featured in Issue 08 of Canthius.

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Qurat Dar was the City of Mississauga’s third Youth Poet Laureate (2021-2023) and the 2020 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam National Champion. Her work has appeared in Augur Magazine, the Art Gallery of Mississauga, and in virtual reality, among other places.