“mosquito remembers 1956, 1989, & 2019”
Faatimah Solomon
khartoum dusk settles & brown legs dangle from the bed,
toes tracing circles in the sand. the mosquito, onyx eyes glistening,
is four days pregnant —swollen & crepuscular,
looking for a blood meal.
for sweet, red hibiscus. this is malaria, is muscle memory:
a gunshot punctures the air.
& the nile takes a breath
exhales
& the rocks granulate.
ام الشهيد امي دم الشهيد دمي
the mothers of the martyrs are my mothers
the blood of the martyrs is my blood
الدم قصاد الدم لن نقبل الدية
blood for blood
we won’t accept blood money
Faatimah Solomon is a poet, writer, and collage artist. Her work explores themes of longing, homemaking, memory, diaspora, and exile. She draws from Sudanese oral storytelling traditions, lineages, photographs, and community and family trees. She is always thinking about the confluence of the two Niles and her habobas (grandmothers).