Maryam A. Ghafoor
I read another
poem written by a white person
about race.
On a walk, I look
down and see not a lake,
not a reflection of myself, but
this snake we found,
black and green,
white garter, curled
into itself for warmth,
half-tucked into a pile
of leaves on the sidewalk.
Not a great choice, I think,
and don’t save it.
Maryam A. Ghafoor is a queer, Muslim, Pakistani-American poet from Illinois. She holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana and an MFA in Creative Writing from Purdue University. Her poems appear in journals such as American Poetry Review, Foundry, SOFTBLOW, Barnstorm, and Mid-American Review. She was longlisted for the 2025 Granum Prize and currently works at Purdue University.