Flying in Afghanistan
by Sara Shah
In plains of drizzled caramel swell towers
of venerable blue tiles. Cloaked with
geometric patterns and lacquered writings,
they gleam when the wedding marches
past the yawning mosque door
where, stumbling, the frazzled boy in the back
flicks his head to catch a glimpse
of the airplane above. The last one he’ll ever
see. The last one they’ll ever hear. He
watches as little flies emerge from beneath,
buzzing louder every second, growing
like the bugs in those subtitled American horror
movies he watches at the Bollywood cinema
and when the rattling ceases, he picks up
fragments of sticky red tile with brittle fingers.
Wonders if he can throw them faster
than bullets toward the aviator goggles
in the cockpit.
Sara Shah is currently a part-time student with a love for Japanese drumming, hip hop dancing, painting and sculpture. Her previous job working in a museum inspired a lifelong love for fine arts and education.
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