Asylee/Refugee

His eyes a maze, bloodshot capillaries
tributaries etched into
a vintage globe, compressed upon
an ocean of guidepost-nightmares

His family now mere marginalia
upon greasy creased papers, bodies
letter-pressed into torn parchment treasure
maps lost to the archive for posterity

His mind imprinted, moving picture
film-reel recordings of a final journey,
amygdala transfixed as slow-motion affidavits
played back to nowhere

Vector image by Kjpargeter

Archana Sridhar

Archana Sridhar is a South Asian poet and university administrator in Toronto, Canada. Archana focuses on themes of meditation, race, motherhood, and diaspora in her poetry and flash writing. Her work has been featured in The Puritan, The Hellebore, Barren Magazine, and elsewhere. Her chapbook “Renderings” is available through 845 Press, and her writing can be found at www.archanasridhar.com.