Abida Akram is a 62 year old retiree. She has been writing poetry and very short fiction for a good few years and only recently, during Covid lockdowns, sent some pieces out.
She won the £100 prize in the Writers’ Forum magazine in August 2021 for her poem ‘Contained’.
She has also had two poems on an immigrant’s experience accepted for an anthology to be published in 2023 by Victoriana Press.
Severed Souls Contributions
‘Could I confirm the name, please?’ tells the story of a woman who, tired of constantly having her name – that simple but fundamental representation of her identity – mispronounced, longs to escape to a different world.
Here’s a snippet:
An old friend on the phone,
‘Great talking to you, B!’
I always wanted to ask
Is that a consonant or
as in the insect?
‘That Rare Thing’ is a poignant poem about the disconnect many migrants feel in their home countries. Here’s a snippet:
She lived only in her head –
a foundling, a lost princess, her real parents
in a different realm.
Bark & Bone Contribution
‘Conversation Between An Alien And A Tree’ unfolds a surprising bond between a sentient alien and an Earthly tree. Here’s a snippet:
Twinned with you, I mimic
your gestures, tie myself to the earth
with your sturdy roots.
Wings abandoned, I stay
to create a new home, a green
forest of our children.
Guest Blog
Guest Blog: Abida Akram
Like many immigrants, I thought I was extremely privileged to be growing up in two cultures. I thought I could take the best of each, unfortunately, I often experienced the worst of both.
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