Koi Pond by Isra Cheema

Koi Pond by Isra Cheema

Author: Maggie Devers September 11, 2025 Duration: 2:56

Koi Pond

Isra Cheema

This poem was first published in Ghost City Press
TW: Abortion
Look down and see your unborn baby
floating in the middle of the toilet
bowl—you see it spin slowly
like a lone koi fish, it’s soft pinked
flesh swirling in a murky pond
of blood clot-lily pads.
You were driving and pulled
over to throw up from the lightning
-strike explosion of sharp pain
in your uterus—you vomited into
a crumpled Walmart bag as the car
inched towards someone’s mailbox.
Feel the liquid warmth gush out of you,
life ejected, no—rejected from your
body, that life-giver. Peer closer at it,
that no-longer-life no larger than a
just-plucked raspberry squished into
some sort of spring jam.
You want to bury it.
Fill a small ring box with silk threads,
a few tears, a palmful of dust, and a
folded-up note of its name for the angels
to know and watch over—but no, this
maroon sea is its cushioned coffin, the
cold ceramic toilet seat its halo.
You flush, watch it swish around the bowl
in circles, life-blood swirling in water like
striped fins swimming away from you,
as if Allah didn’t say your unborn child
would drag you into heaven by its
umbilical cord, as if this angel baby—

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Write After: National Poetry Month with One Poem Only

Write After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. We'll get started in April. You can share to #WriteAfterOPO.

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Each day, One Poem Only offers a brief, deliberate pause. Hosted by Maggie Devers, this podcast is built on a simple, consistent premise: a single poem, read aloud, without analysis or introduction. It’s an audio space where the words themselves are the event, a performance meant to be absorbed in the few minutes it takes to hear it. The daily rhythm of the show creates a quiet ritual, a point of reflection woven into a busy life. You might hear a classic sonnet, a piece of modern free verse, or a work from a poet you’ve never encountered. The selection is varied, touching on themes from the natural world to the intricacies of human emotion, always leaving room for your own interpretation. The effect is cumulative; listening regularly becomes a subtle form of education in the sound and scope of poetry, and a small act of self-care. This isn't a lecture or a book club, but a performing art delivered directly to your ears. Maggie’s clear, thoughtful readings provide the only framework needed, allowing each poem to stand entirely on its own. The curtain falls, and the moment passes, but the podcast invites you to return tomorrow when a new piece takes center stage, offering another quiet moment, one poem only.
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