I once believed that I had to be
quiet
reliant
subservient
It began on a sunny morning
like many tragic things do
A silent room, loud thoughts
it took only a second
like many tragic things do.
I forgot what it felt like
to feel
unapologetically
without my words tra i l i n g o f f
into apologies.
Like a black hole at the center of a star,
I collapsed into myself
The beginning of the end
as they say.
What does it feel like to taste
the salt from my eyes
that rests daily on my chest
slowly
but
surely
eroding pieces of myself.
I spend my days underwater
I have no need for your
breath on my skin to remind me that I am
alive.
I once believed that I had to be
quiet
reliant
subservient
But I remember now
that this sound that shakes the earth
is the sound
of my voice.
About Tamoghna Dey
Tamoghna Dey is a Bangladeshi, born and brought up in Oman, studying filmmaking at NYU Abu Dhabi. She works with poetry and the moving image to create poetic narratives that reflect on deeply personal topics of identity, mental health, abuse and trauma.
Instagram: @tea.dey
Edited by Emiru Okada
Graphic by Emily Mogami