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PoetryJune 19, 2012

Decaf Immigrant

My name is not Beneatha,
or at least I don’t think it was until
today,
when my coffee cup informed with the imperial authority
of permanent black ink over smooth white cardboard
that my name was,
in fact,
Beneatha.

Come to think of it,
I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing my own name on a coffee cup,
mocking me with its ironic green and white,
the familiar colors of a Pakistani flag.
There’s been Anita, Rita, Mida, Deepa,
and my personal favorite,
Juanita,
but never
Madiha.

I am the decaffeinated coffee in my careless cup:
boiling, brown and bitter without the kick,
or an invisible celery stick
sitting next to a mountain
of tantalizing buffalo wings.
—Madiha Arsalan

 

Madiha Arsalan is a first generation Pakistani immigrant-turned-American mother who decided to reject her South Asian obligations of choosing a “socially acceptable” career path and started attending University of South Florida as a Creative Writing major a year ago. While her interests are not easily converted into US currency, they feed her better than her former cubicle job did.

Read more of Ms Arsalan’s poetry in our downloadable digital edition.

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Issue 6June 2012

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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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