Penumbra
by Laila Issak
when sadness feels easy
eyes watering tears begging to fall
pleading for the shadows to take me
whisk me into the gray
it’s meant to be this way
i repeat to myself
aware that sadness is pain
and pain is just temporary
but feels so so permanent
Laila Issak is a Muslim poet from East Africa. She is a human rights activist and revolutionist.
Illustration by Sam Garufi