Hailstones
are cursed opals clunking
on our frozen landscapes.
There are kittens
in your backyard, swaddling
their mother’s congealed blood
around themselves;
returning her spasms
of sacrificial love.
Their death is a cake
lazily rising
in the oven heat.
The last rain of sweat
scurries down
the hull of my clavicles.
Meet the Poet
Hiba Heba is a Pakistan-based writer and poet. She earned her Bachelor of English literature and linguistics degree from Air University and is currently applying for scholarships abroad. Her poems have appeared in Daily Times, Terror House Magazine, Visual Verse, Feminist Voices Anthology: Volume II, OpenDoor Poetry Magazine, The Raconteur Review, The Wild Word, Ofi Press Magazine, New Feathers Anthology, Women’s Spiritual Poetry and Autumn Sky Poetry. She has a micro-chapbook, ‘Grief is a Firefly’, published by Origami Poems Project (October 2021). Hiba likes to experiment with unexpected imagery and extended metaphors in her poems.
