stormless nightscape
neon lightning
car-thunder and auto-hum
the dark doldrums
sky scrapes
violence even in brightest daytime
the city is
its own weather system
tempestuous / slum
lashing / victims
of architecture: humans undone
slithering, slithering
we,    slugs of no sun

city din under
-standing passengers passing
below the l train

It’s a city in the mountain view
**** I’ve never seen something quite like you
So fun and free, yet peaceful-
A constant reminder of nature’s beauty.

For some the growing happens after high school
For others, the change happens in graduate school
I was nervous to make the transition alone
However, him leaving turned out to be the best **** thing since edible cookie dough

sweet birdsong consumes
the bitterness of cities
a summer morning

There is a rush hour
In the city of my heart
Here people see
Each other as competition
And every dead bird or dark alley
Is a harbinger, a premonition.
Everything comes at the wrong hour
Taxis, jeeps, the tired faces
Heading towards tired places
Deep inside is the insidious machine
The three headed dog, the selfish gene
The one who denies death
The one who craves
And the one who slaves for his breath

There is a rush hour that never stops
An endless coming and going
Trapped inside the gaze of the cyclops
Where there is no wine for soothing
Here, the destination is what matters
The journey is a waste of time
You wait until everyone scatters
And every attempt at rest is a crime

Karachi,
I love Karachi,
not just because'
this city has allowed to'
my grandparents and'
than my parents to'
make their homes here,
but her sky,
moon, sun, air,
ocean and soil are'
breathing in me as a love,
Love is name of a feeling,
where you would try to leave'
that place or a person,
but more you try,
more you feel home'
within them,
As same I do feel with Karachi.

-Nida Mahmoed

we walk beneath the weight of the outside
birds sing in tune with the collective
& trees reveal their 50-year-old whispers

homes along the way glide above the sunshade
in-between blanketed shadows and sidewalks covered in gum

neighbors swim in the darkness behind blackout curtains
their beds balance on cups of bedside water
& a yellow candle glows above the city