Lunch

I try to forget about Maryam

And that time I mistakenly walked

In on her while she stepped out

Of the shower and grabbed her

Hijab in fright. I think of Ramadan

Instead, in August two years back,

When Raahil invited me for Hilal.

I thought it was a celebration—

His parents laughed when I asked

When we would eat. I did not know

What I now know—that some fast

For holy rites—but they explained

Spiritual hunger and how to feed it;

While they spoke, I hoped Maryam

Would not tell them that I saw her.

We gathered when the crescent

Moon rose, and my stomach growled,

Hungry for something I did not know.