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Literature, PoetryDecember 22, 2014

Burn On

We cannot all see the dreams in the same way 2 by Scharjeel Sarfaraz. Courtesy: ArtChowk Gallery

We cannot all see the dreams in the same way 2 by Scharjeel Sarfaraz. Courtesy: ArtChowk Gallery

My brothers and I
lift our dad’s bier, carry
it to Lake Erie

where he rode freighters,
mastered jibs, the luff of sails,
outdid his brothers

in half-assed races
that terrorized lesser craft.
He rests on crossed sticks.

In the dream it takes
all three of us to keep it
from tipping. Shoulders

drop it to the boat
that squelches lower, freighted.
Marc thumbs his lighter,

shields flame with cupped hand.
We shove the dinghy away.
If the chop sinks it

so be it. Wave slaps
knock it about, but it’s true.
What music led him

to stand at the back
of the Protestant chapel
perched on Swan’s Island

in his last free years?
Dad, who mocked religion,
heard something singing.

What prayers should we leave
as he turns to fiery ash?
a last bon voyage?

~ David Sullivan

David Sullivan’s first book, ‘Strong-Armed Angels’, was published by Hummingbird Press. ‘Every Seed of the Pomegranate’, a multi-voiced manuscript about the war in Iraq, was published by Tebot Bach. His translations from the Arabic of Iraqi Adnan Al-Sayegh, ‘Bombs Have Not Breakfasted Yet’, was published in 2013, and ‘Black Ice’, about his father’s dementia and death, is forthcoming from Turning Point. He teaches at Cabrillo College, where he edits the Porter Gulch Review with his students, and lives in Santa Cruz. He was awarded a Fulbright, and taught in China for one year.

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david sullivanpoetryScharjeel Sarfarazweekend poem

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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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