You know what's funny, Arc? My mom does an online Islamic course where she does the tafseer of ayahs from the Quran. Yesterday she did 30:22! The exact same one that one of your poems revolves around~

It's cool to read all your poems. :3

My favorite from "flashbacks: languages" is this bit -

and so by the time I was eight
I was already
lost in translation
absorbing Hindi
praying in Arabic
watching words appear like eye-floaters
'A's and alefs dancing in my thoughts

I'm eager to read more!

Great work rate, Arc!

"Flashbacks: Languages" is my favorite of all poems you've posted so far. I was about to quote the same stanza as Lib

'A's and alefs dancing in my thoughts

It's a deservingly beautiful end to the poem.

Arc, I've been meaning to comment on these, they all feel so polished, and I could see this being like a real poetry book (and I'm not just saying that!). I'm really enjoying how you're able to take these religious themes, and communicate them with such personal touches, it makes them all seem like cherished little insights into the speaker's experience and are rich with memory.

I'm not sure which one is my favorite - they've all been enjoyable to read so far. Some of my favorite lines, "buttercheeked, says Mother /speaking nonsense / out of love", the whole depiction of Cain's lament & digging his brother's grave was striking, & "don't you wish what you're feeling would become the sky" --

Arcticus, your imagery is always so beautiful, fresh, and original. You also have such clean formatting of your poetry. Your lines always flow and you're so descriptive but it's never too much or too scarce. You always seem to achieve equilibrium with the right amount of imagery and detail. Reading a poem from you always feels like taking a breath of fresh air.

Reading your poetry is a treat. I agree with what everyone else has said. Your use of imagery is stunning. But really, what's amazing to me is that your poems always makes me feel something. I praised you on your work rate before, getting poetry into the thread regularly. But you're also efficient with your use of words. They always seem to serve a purpose. I'd say that's your strength.

I love the sweet simplicity of tea-time kisses.

Arcticus, all of the poems you've published here in this thread so far were truly lovely to read and have blown me away. My favorite one that's stuck with me, though, was your ninth poem "tea-time kisses" - I love the beautiful simplicity and playfulness of it. Keep up the amazing work!