I Have a Vision for My Poems

Nazifa Islam

a found poem: The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

I am forever rust-tongued—my poemsdull turgid mush. Timeis green-eyed & spite-seething—too alive, too tough.It creaks under my footwith malicedoesn't wait for meto prepare better rhythmsor calculate gem-bright details.It is archaic & jealousand so I writequiet poems with a puritanheart. What I need?To rewrite a poemso it is bigger, freer, strangerthan light& somehow as righteous.

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Nazifa Islam is the author of the poetry collections Searching for a Pulse (Whitepoint Press) and Forlorn Light: Virginia Woolf Found Poems (Shearsman Books). Her poems have appeared in Gulf Coast, The Missouri Review, Boston Review, The Believer, and Beloit Poetry Journal among other publications. She earned her MFA at Oregon State University. You can find her @nafoopal.

Cover of the Indianapolis Review

Issue 23: Winter 2023

Indianapolis, Indiana

Founder & Editor-in-Chief
Natalie Solmer

Assistant Editor
Jen Bingham

The Indianapolis Review, established in 2017, is an online quarterly publication featuring poetry, art, and visual poetry. We work to promote artists and writers from our region, but we also showcase work from around the country and the world. We don’t limit ourselves to one particular school or style of poetry or art; we simply want art and poetry that surprises, sings, and makes us think.

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