To Old Memories

by Fariza Farid Memon

I beckon old memories in my solitude,

they tingle my senses albeit faint, distant –

drowned TV noise from the other room as I dozed,

feeling safe that someone was home;

whiff of orange scent that my classmate carried;

laundry circling turbulently while I brushed my teeth,

excited to try on the newly bought dress;

prayer calls, school headmaster summons, family hollers;

the orange scent gets stronger now,

ripe, sweet, tender, something familiar;

uneasy, silent drives to the grocery stores with detached parents,

no radio, just headphones plugged to my phone;

I almost reach her scent but past

and memories stand still.

Bubbling regret mixed with gratitude

leads to a new-found desire:

to perceive better and doubt less.

"That editing is a labor of love, and plenty of effort is carried on in the background. Editing is more than correcting grammatical errors but more so to make a literary work cohesive enough to be coherent."

Fariza Farid Memon

reflecting on their key takeaways from the Fahmidan Mentorship Program.

Fariza Farid Memon is an emerging Pakistani writer based in Finland, who has done her Masters in English Language and Culture. She is passionate about reading fiction, trying different teas, and writing poetry and short fiction. Her works have appeared in Chasing Shadows Magazine, To The Litehouse Magazine, and Sontag Magazine. In her spare time, she's either learning Finnish tenses or out on a walk.