AIRPORT ROAD www.electrastreet.net/airportroad NYU Abu Dhabi 19 Washington Square North New York, NY 10003 Send inquiries to: Publisher Airport Road NYU Abu Dhabi PO Box 903 New York, NY 10276-0903 electra.nyuad@gmail.com ISSN 2312-1777 © 2014 Electra Street
Front Cover Image: Untitled, Khadija Toor
EDITOR
Sachi Leith
DESIGNER
Diana Gluck
READERS
Tessa Ayson Chaeri Lee Gayoung Lee Khadija Toor Emily Wang
MANAGING EDITOR FOR DIGITAL
Viswanath Chandrasekar
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Deborah Lindsay Williams
PUBLISHER
Cyrus R. K. Patell
Issue 01 Fall 2014
Contents POETRY Carlos Perez, 59th and Lexington 14 Veronica Houk, Lady Mozzy 23 Faustina Lim, Half Poet to Dead Poet 33 Tessa Ayson, Post 40 Valentina Vela, Fragments from a fragmented youth 46 Lucas Olscamp, Tell Me Something 50 Sara Bahermez, Homebred 63 Oscar Lozano, Mother. Father. My children. 65 Daria Karaulova, Yes. No. 91 Libby Goss, Gates of Gold 98 Megan Eloise, gunpowder 99 Tessa Ayson, A Note, A Tick 109 Rabha Ashry, home/utopia 117 Joey Bui, Man With an Axe 128 Cristobal Martinez Yanes, Poem No. 2 132
PROSE Tom Taylor, A Routine 11 Carmen Germaine, On Eating Meat 17 Neha Hirve, The Fall of a Hundred Things 27 Maheen Zahra, The Air of London 36 Na isatou Mounkaila, This I believe 44 Carmen Germaine, The Burden 55 Veronica Houk, Paper Dreams 57 Emily Eagen, Euridia’s Cry 71 Zhao Xu, The Twilight Zone 86 Nicole Lopez del Carril, Eating Fire 95 Jamie Sutherland, The Professor Zeinfeldt 100 Nadeen Alalami, Counting Down 111 Sachi Leith, Dromedaries 119
VISUAL Emily Wang, Abu Dhabi 9 Diana Gluck, Movement 10 Zahida Rahemtulla, Burj Basil 13 Joey Bui, Impassive, 7 Letters 16 Agustina Zegers, Off-Chance 25 Agustina Zegers, Composition with Orange & Banana 26 Cleo Smits, Shoe Portraits Series 34 Khadija Toor, Portraits 1 and 2 42 Diana Gluck, Inside / Outside 49 Megan Eloise, Michael 56 Anastasia Steshina, A Peek 62 Mika Koulibaly, Solitude 69 Diana Gluck, Pond 70 Natalie McCauley, Le Crayon de Dieu 85 Neha Hirve, dance of the smurfs 90 Natalie McCauley, Beach Mosque 94 Natalie McCauley, Senegalese Sunset 97 Mika Koulibaly, Intrigue 108 Emily Wang, Hatta, UAE 118 Nahal Mustafa, Dil e awara 127
Introduction “Arriving at each new city, the traveler finds again a past of his that he did not know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places.” – Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities From my bedroom window in Sama Tower, in downtown Abu Dhabi, I
Electra Street Airport Road
Airport road
7
Airport Road 01
8
Abu Dhabi Emily Wang
Airport road
9
Movement Diana Gluck
10
A Routine Tom Taylor
Airport road
11
12
Burj Basil Zahida Rahemtulla
Airport road
13
59th & Lexington Carlos Perez
a tundra
14
anywhere
with the
Airport road
15
Impassive, 7 letters Joey Bui
16
On Eating Meat Carmen Germaine
Airport road
17
*
18
*
1
Airport road
19
*
20
Airport road
21
_______________________________________________________________________ 1
stm
22
Lady Mozzy Veronica Houk For all of these sweet, wet nights in Ghana. I imagine you in boots
I do not begrudge your penetration
Airport road
23
That throbbing red
body,
in my hands,
24
Off-Chance Agustina Zegers
Airport road
25
Composition with Orange & Banana Agustina Zegers
26
The Fall of a Hundred Things Néha Hirve
Airport road
27
*
*
28
Airport road
29
*
30
Airport road
31
*
32
Half Poet to Dead Poet Faustina Lim
in the mornings
this morning
I am not a poet
Airport road
33
Shoe Portraits Series Cleo Smits
34
Airport road
35
The Air of London (Revisited) Maheen Zahra
36
Airport road
37
38
Airport road
39
Post Tessa Ayson
jump with a
450 today
40
Airport road
41
Portrait 1 Khadija Toor
42
Portrait 2 Khadija Toor
Airport road
43
This I Believe Nafisatou Mounkaila
44
Airport road
45
Fragments from a fragmented youth Fragmentos de una juventud fragmentada Valentina Vela
_______________________________________________________________________
Your
that hand
46
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
And my Spanish is bitter
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Airport road
47
Fumando
_______________________________________________________________________
A good shot
_______________________________________________________________________
48
Inside/Outside Diana Gluck
Airport road
49
Tell Me Something Lucas Olscamp
50
Airport road
51
52
Airport road
53
54
The Burden Carmen Germaine
Airport road
55
Michael Megan Eloise
56
Paper Dreams Veronica Houk
Airport road
57
*
58
*
Airport road
59
*
60
*
Airport road
61
A Peek Anastasia Steshina
62
Homebred Sara Bahermez I was bred in a home
I was bred with
Airport road
63
Forget that I was bred to worship the wind
64
Mother. Father. My children. Oscar Lozano I
Airport road
65
II
66
Airport road
67
III
68
Solitude Mika Koulibaly
Airport road
69
Pond Diana Gluck
70
Euridia’s Cry Emily Eagen
Darkness, dank, pressing down. I scream. The screams wilt in my throat. I weep. The tears cling to my lashes.
Alone with a monster, alone in the dark, choking on the
Airport road
71
perfume of rotting fish and Elysian fields. Pressed. Crushed. Near to be pierced.
No father, no brother. I fight for myself. My work-roughed fingers strike out in fear and in fury. His laughter rumbles like thunder right through my chest, pounds through my heart like a storm over still water. I strike. He subdues. My proud lips beg mercy, none forthcoming. He tears my dress. I’ve only one. He is a viper, poised to strike. He crows the laughter of victory won. I plead the gods mercy—please! Mercy…
The orphan with stars in her eyes
72
So beautiful. I didn’t know anything could be so beautiful. How could a seed of violence yield a crop of joy? My love! First-fruit of a ransacked womb. My babe, sweet babe, my love! Your little fingers, fragile as flowers’ stalks caress my belly, slack with your absence. Your flower fingers trace the streaks of lightning red—my battle scars. My lap, my love, is the seat of war, the site of ravaged desecration. Violation. But my breasts are full and you suck with vigor. Like a phoenix, from ashes bursts life! Your lambskin feet are soft within my sea-wrinkled hands. Too much washing. I’m sorry for the callouses. The world is still so smooth for you—I’d like to keep it that way.
Saw the boy birthed
Airport road
73
But you, my love, grow firm and tight. You, my love! Full as the tide and smooth as a jewel. Sweet as honey and precious as salt.
Κάμω ε ε ε… Νάνι μού το νάνι νάνι κι όπου μου πονεί να γιάνει. I make (the sound) e e e …. Nani (my baby) nani nani and wherever it hurts will heal.
Hush, my love! Don’t cry. What cause have you for tears? Mother’s here. Mother— What are you doing here? No. No! Go away! Haven’t you done enough? No!
74
My love, don’t cry, don’t cry, my love! Mother’s here!
Don’t cry, my love, don’t cry!
Don’t cry, my love, my life!
Mother’s here. He who raped me will not rob me.
My love!
Airport road
75
He’s slipping! He’s slipping!
My love!
My hands are thin as vapor, my whole body contracting into itself—
My love!
76
I cannot breathe. My child! Darkness presses in on my temples, throbbing. I gasp. Burning, burning. The harder I gasp, the less I take in. The air is like nothing, the sun is like death.
Thrashes the ground,
Airport road
77
The pain is unending. My child weeps. My love, forgive me! Gods preserve me! Let me hold my son again!
I squeeze you as tight as I dare. I won’t let them take you. Mama loves you—I love you! My tears run down your smooth, fresh face, your cheeks mottled crimson with distress. My love, in you is all my love. I give you all I have to give.
Come, my love—we run!
78
Merciful gods, grant me death, but let my child live!
Airport road
79
I struggle to stand, but my legs are like water in motion. I struggle to plant my feet, but I cannot find them.
My love!
80
My bruised heart calms. I don’t understand why. The pounding surge of chaos seems to soften.
Airport road
81
Stoops at the shore and
My precious.
82
Do you remember the song I sang when you were small? The song I sang in the precious days, the too-short days? Don’t cry if you don’t. I’ll sing it now, and maybe the breeze will carry my words over the sand and into your ear. And maybe they won’t. Still, I will sing. And maybe, my son, you will hear.
Κάμω ε ε ε… Νάνι μού το νάνι νάνι κι όπου μου πονεί να γιάνει. Νανι το, που να το χαρώ,
Airport road
83
σαν η ελιά το φύλλο. Σαν τα πουλάκια το νερό και τα βουνά τον ήλιο. Ε ε ε ε…
I make (the sound) e e e …. Nani (my baby) nani nani and wherever it hurts will heal. Nani to my baby, whom I enjoy as the olive of its leaf. As the little birds of the water and the mountains of the sun. E…e…e…e
Works Cited
84
Le Crayon de Dieu Natalie McCauley
Airport road
85
The Twilight Zone Zhao Xu
86
Airport road
87
88
Airport road
89
dance of the smurfs Neha Hirve
90
Yes. No. Daria Karaulova
Airport road
91
Ambiguous eternity
92
For months, days, minutes or ages
Airport road
93
Beach Mosque Natalie McCauley
94
Eating Fire Nicole Lopez del Carril
Airport road
95
96
Senegalese Sunset Natalie McCauley
Airport road
97
Gates of Gold Libby Moss
98
gunpowder Megan Eloise
to sour you down
Airport road
99
The Professor Zeinfeldt Jamie Sutherland
Marat/Sade Pericles
100
*
Equus in the Downstairs
The Pickwick Papers
Airport road
101
*
*
Complete Works
102
The Duchess of Malfi
Airport road
103
*
104
*
Airport road
105
Disgrace
*
106
*
Airport road
107
Intrigue Mika Koulibaly
108
A Note, A Tick Tessa Ayson
heart, tread stamped upon dripping sorrows
Airport road
109
you stopped treading
a moment at a time
110
Counting Down Nadeen Alalami
Airport road
111
112
Airport road
113
114
Airport road
115
116
home/utopia Rabha Ashry
Airport road
117
Hatta, UAE Emily Wang
118
Dromedaries Sachi Leith
Airport road
119
120
and, eyes streaming but now otherwise unimpaired, open my mouth
Airport road
121
122
Airport road
123
124
Airport road
125
126
Dil e awara Nahal Mustafa
Airport road
127
(Man with an axe) Joey Bui
shooting up through the water pipes
128
and then
here and now they are not
sometime in the noon siesta surging through the waterpipes, promising that
Airport road
129
(Man with a broom)
surging through the waterpipes, and sometime in the noon siesta
here and now they are not
and then
130
shooting up through the water pipes
Airport road
131
Poem No.2 Cristobal Martinez Yanes
no para siempre,
132
sĂşbito piano,
sĂşbito piano,
forte,
ansiosos,
forte,
Anxious,
Airport road
133
AIRPORT ROAD