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PoetryJanuary 7, 2013

Fledgling

For Ella

"Coccinella" by Sonja Dimovoska

“Coccinella” by Sonja Dimovoska

 

We held our breath as you slid out,

released it when you cried, a welcome

sound after the silence of that first

delivery. Passed from one grandmother

to the other, neither dared shush you.

 

Your father paraded you to the entrance

of the birthing suite, announced your

arrival to clerks at the desk. The nurse

had to lift his hand from your back

so you could be weighed, measured.

 

In three weeks you start first grade.

My son will let go your hand

as you scale the steps

of the school bus, backpack

spread like wings

across your shoulders.

 

When his big brother

went to school, your father sobbed

I want my brother, I need my brother.

He huddled in the bay window

until the car pool returned, blankie

clutched in his hand, refused

to eat lunch or watch Sesame Street.

 

Now he will rub his eyes,

claim allergies. He will sit

in his car as the bus pulls away,

watch it grow smaller,

turn the corner, disappear

from view.

~Nina Bennett

 

Nina Bennett is the author of Forgotten Tears: A Grandmother’s Journey Through Grief. Her poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including Red Poppy Review, Houseboat, Bryant Literary Review, Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine, The Broadkill Review, and American Society: What Poets See. Nina’s poem “Déjà Vu” took third place in the 2012 Out & About magazine contest.

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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 [email protected].

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

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