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Literature, PoetryDecember 9, 2014

Blood and cardboard

At the Edge IV by Scharjeel Sarfaraz. Courtesy: ArtChowk Gallery

At the Edge IV by Scharjeel Sarfaraz. Courtesy: ArtChowk Gallery

Blood found in the crevice
of the sidewalk near
where you used to live

splattered there long ago
in a battering by someone
you barely remember

brought back when the wind
blows your hair a certain way
and the scar is revealed

life made you expert at hiding
self contained in a box you wait
till it is safe to come out

there no one sees you and the wounds
heal better in the darkness
spilled blood dries dark brown

the color of cardboard left
in the driveway, a prey
to men in cars who would hurt you

~ Daniel von der Embse

Daniel von der Embse was born and raised in Mansfield, Ohio, and graduated from Ashland University with a B.A. degree in Theatre. He began writing poetry after a four-decade career as a copywriter for advertising agencies in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City.

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Daniel von der EmbsePoem of the WeekpoetryScharjeel Sarfaraz

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  1. Blood and Cardboard — Poem of the Week @TheMissingSlate | writing in airplanes says:
    December 9, 2014 at 11:00 PM

    […] poem Blood and cardboard is featured as Poem of the Week in the current edition of The Missing Slate. They are an online […]

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One last love letter...

April 24, 2021

It has taken us some time and patience to come to this decision. TMS would not have seen the success that it did without our readers and the tireless team that ran the magazine for the better part of eight years.

But… all good things must come to an end, especially when we look at the ever-expanding art and literary landscape in Pakistan, the country of the magazine’s birth.

We are amazed and proud of what the next generation of creators are working with, the themes they are featuring, and their inclusivity in the diversity of voices they are publishing. When TMS began, this was the world we envisioned…

Though the magazine has closed and our submissions shuttered, this website will remain open for the foreseeable future as an archive of the great work we published and the astounding collection of diverse voices we were privileged to feature.

If, however, someone is interested in picking up the baton, please email Maryam Piracha, the editor, at maryamp@themissingslate.com.

Farewell, fam! It’s been quite a ride.

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