Don’t Look at Me This Way by Shahnaz ParvinThe Breath of the Field
The smell of damp earth after a long day of sun is a heavy, sweet perfume that clings to the back of the throat. It is the scent of stalks being crushed, a dry, papery friction against the palms. When I close my eyes, I can still feel the coarse…
The Weight of Petals
In the quiet corners of a garden, time seems to behave differently. We are accustomed to the frantic ticking of the clock, the relentless forward motion of days that demand our constant attention. Yet, a flower does not hurry. It unfolds in…
The Breath Before the Cold
The air before a storm has a specific texture; it feels like wet wool pressed against the skin, heavy and expectant. I remember standing on a porch in late autumn, the wind turning sharp, smelling of damp earth and the metallic tang of ozone.…