and from the inside in

Compotier II, 2015, 29 x 56 cm
by ETEL ADNAN - Courtesy of Galerie Lelong, Photo by Fabrice Gibert
Potato Market
Tata Azmi asks me to drive to the souk
batata. She holds the dashboard nook
and prays little duas under her breath;
those slight whispers wafting into the depth
of the floor’s ancient soda stains. At the potato market
I park near the Tunisian carpets
rolled in bundles like retaining walls
for the “King Edward’s” potato: carpeted halls.
“Here is a tomato box;” Fresh wrapped lamb, yams,
and red potatoes for my mother fall from the basket
Tata makes with her skirt to the box. She asks
me to let my father, on his way home, know
the cooking time is slow, and
to retrieve our share after his tailor shop is closed.
Layla A. Goushey
Earthy brown roots tussle
with mud on Yukon Gold. Muscle
on the man who says, :”Hatha sinduk bandura;”
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