Every night is a good night by Manahil Bandukwala

April 27, 2023
Poem title: Every night is a good night Poet: Manahil Bandukwala Poem: We pull away from the mountain and the path meanders to form the letter s signifying the beginning of breathing together through the night. All the river creatures, carp and beavers alike, exit their burrows to swim or crawl to the first bed they happen upon. I whisper to you in the humidity. How it takes the shape of scepters, of jungle cats. So detailed we can make out each strand of fur on its magnificent pride. The ghosts inhabiting each miniscule hole left by a nail once hammered into the wall feel the first semblance of rest in centuries and emerge. Everything has a point of origin and the beginning of calm starts the moment one of us falls asleep, really sleeping, with little to no dreams because the dream is to be within touching distance and here we are, always finding new ways to say goodbye to the night. End of poem. Credits and bio: Copyright © Manahil Bandukwala Previously published in Augur Magazine, issue 5.1, Joyful Imaginations, 2022. Manahil Bandukwala is a writer and visual artist originally from Pakistan and now settled in Canada. She works as Coordinating Editor for Arc Poetry Magazine, and is Digital Content Editor for Canthius. She is a member of Ottawa-based collaborative writing group VII. Her debut poetry collection is MONUMENT (Brick Books). See her work at manahilbandukwala.com.