white and pink abstract brushstrokes
Photo by Josep Martins / Unsplash

From afar, I was seen practicing
agony. I am told I am good at
it. Like plastic that flung itself
into a fire, I think I am weeping.

Isra Hassan
Isra Hassan is a Somali American poet from Minneapolis. Her poems appear in Poet Lore, Water~Stone Review, The Penn Review, and other outlets. Her debut manuscript was a finalist for the 2023 Center for African American Poetry and Poetics Book Prize. She resides in Washington, DC.