The idea behind this series was to curate stories and pieces that reclaim the love that isn’t always visible. The love that makes us question what defines heartbreak, what defines a connection, how we learn and unlearn, how we teach and feel love. These questions are brought to the surface through this collection of visual works, poetry and text created by women who’ve beautifully visualized all the love you can’t visibilize.
burnt-butter skin
by Sabrina Sukhdeo
we lie in a pool of daylight
dissolved in the emerald glaze of summer
the heat of our burnt-butter skin
sinking into the pause between our bodies
mouthless gods grip our tongues
us babies born away from war-cut coasts
as haloes of our holy histories
weld together metalled belongings & faiths
the gilded pulse then grows savage
the injustices we share gnaw at unripe want
but in its violence we forge refuge
from the oil-water love rotting our homes
now our wounds have drunk their fill
rousing a bright flush of prayer & pleasure
to lift the scars of tortured mothers
from our trembling hands softly clasped in silence
Visual by Ayse Koca
Sabrina Sukhdeo is a Toronto-based writer of Indo-Guyanese descent. Her poetry and personal essays intimately explore the concepts of longing, belonging, and rootlessness through her experiences as a third culture daughter. She has previously been published in Kajal Magazine. Sabrina is completing her undergraduate degree in political science and will soon be pursuing a law degree, with aspirations in women’s advocacy. Find her on Twitter @sabrinaids.
