Motion Parallax
I miss you the most when I’m moving
On buses or planes, aisle lights making mirrors of the grimy glass
And you are not there and I am alone
The bus jolts and the image blurs enough that I can make you out as something kind
Cut me so I can bleed into your cracked pieces and love you
Let me weep onto the ugly canvas of your departure
And paint you anew in swirling watercolour
I will make you sixteen – wonderful and with everything to lose.
Sarah Al-Hajj is from the United Kingdom and Lebanon. She grew up in Dubai and now studies English Literature and Psychology at the University of St Andrews. Her debut collection, ‘Wonky Fingers’, was published in February, 2024, made up of 21 poems about healing, heartbreak, nature and chocolate.