Series Notes Contact Rehearsal Hotel
Series Notes Contact Rehearsal Hotel
56.
TREMBLE
Fatema Abdoolcarim
TREMBLE
Fatema Abdoolcarim
Three poems—
Swan
black bowl
& day 26.
Swan
black bowl
& day 26.
* * *
* * *
An excerpt (care of monitor books) ...
* * *
Swan
Like the swan who uses her bill and body to shape her nest
—persistent—each stick in place—
while a water snake circles slippery, very, very close by.
* * *
Swan
Like the swan who uses her bill and body to shape her nest
—persistent—each stick in place—
while a water snake circles slippery, very, very close by.
black bowl
She crumbles red clay from the cliffs of the island into the
storebought beige clay speckled with gritty chamotte. Wheel
spins, fingers slip, a bowl lifts, and a lip is trimmed underneath.
Bisque fire turns beige to dusty white. The firesand grit is still
rough to touch. A thin dip in black matte glaze; a thick stroke of
glossy white-green glaze. The second fire turns the bowl
bloodclot velvet. In its centre the gloss shimmers like a pool of
jade. She sees her dark iris reflected back in its sheen. The
chamotte is smoothed into sparkling specks of starry silver.
The island red—now almost-black—iron rich, a glistening. Her
blood flows. She smashes the bowl. The bowl is now in thirty-
six pieces. She gathers each shard, each flake, wipes them
clean, fits them together, takes out the gold. With this blood
men are made.
storebought beige clay speckled with gritty chamotte. Wheel
spins, fingers slip, a bowl lifts, and a lip is trimmed underneath.
Bisque fire turns beige to dusty white. The firesand grit is still
rough to touch. A thin dip in black matte glaze; a thick stroke of
glossy white-green glaze. The second fire turns the bowl
bloodclot velvet. In its centre the gloss shimmers like a pool of
jade. She sees her dark iris reflected back in its sheen. The
chamotte is smoothed into sparkling specks of starry silver.
The island red—now almost-black—iron rich, a glistening. Her
blood flows. She smashes the bowl. The bowl is now in thirty-
six pieces. She gathers each shard, each flake, wipes them
clean, fits them together, takes out the gold. With this blood
men are made.
Day 26
When they watch TV each curled up under separate throw blankets he tends to ask a lot of questions out loud what did he say is Luverne a real place whose daughter is she how did the fire start she usually doesn’t respond because she is engrossed and so doesn’t quite hear him can we get naked it takes her a while to comprehend this question not directed to what’s happening onscreen the butcher shop is ablaze and the butcher is on the run the flames are very orange and with her eyes fixed on the screen she informs him that she’s already on day twenty-six and he looks gently his gaze warm he keeps looking until she sees him his fleece lined joggers boxer shorts wool socks jumper t-shirt and throw blanket already crumpled around his feet and she burns in the face ashamed by how much I’ve changed.
Fatema Abdoolcarim is an Indian-Pakistani Hong Konger who makes films and writes. Her films have been shown internationally, including at Locarno Film Festival, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Osaka Asian Film Festival. Tremble (Monitor Books, 2025) is her debut collection of poetry. She lives in the Baltic Sea, on the island of Bornholm.