Tag: self preservation

VERSE | DI-STRAW-T

On By Mahvash K. M.In Foot in the Mouth, poetry, satire, verse, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment 
She puts it down in front of me
A bottle of water and a glass
With a straw
(Not plastic - Greta T.
Would probably be somewhat happy)
I especially ask for it, I know
It reeks of faux gentility
To sip one’s water from a glass
With a rim, sculpted for your lips
To gently settle on it and draw
Up The water. But the straw
Has replaced that intimacy 
Between the aqua glass and me
It wasn’t always like this
This distancing of my lips
But unending hopelessness
Pandemics of malaise 
Scrooched time and again
Upon the rim, insidious and grim
Where there should have been
Pure bevel, clean, pristine 
Or at the very least
Conclaves of mellow disease
That didn’t bleed dry and deplete 
The very life blood out of me
So now you know
Why I use uncoupling straws
Indifferent, cool, gappy
(Paper-made, eco-friendly)
An arms-length defense strategy 
To keep myself malady free.

Image: Jean-Antoine Watteau
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LONGLIST | ZHR PRIZE FOR WOMEN WRITERS

On By Mahvash K. M.In Awards, Shortstory, socialissues, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment

My story “THE GLIMMER” has been long listed in the Zeenat Haroon Rashid 2023 Writing competition for Women.

Zeenat Haroon Rashid (21 Jan 1928 – 8 April 2017) was the daughter of Sir Abdullah Haroon. She was a young stalwart of the Muslim League and founding member of the Women’s National Guard at the time of Independence, and throughout her life promoted a vision of Pakistani women as equal partners in the struggle for building a modern Pakistan. The Zeenat Haroon Rashid Writing Prize for Women has been set up to promote and provide support for women who wish to pursue writing as a career.

Thank you to this year’s judges, Amina Ahmad, Shandana Minhas, Mohammad Hanif, Sarwat Yasmeen Azeem and Shan Vahidy. Grateful and chuffed 🙏🏼🌸

YOU CAN READ THE LONGLIST HERE: https://www.zhrwritingprize.com/read-the-longlist