Sub(ah) [morning]

Anaa Gulzar, Poetry Contributor

Note from the author: The titles of my poems are multilingual, a blend of English and Urdu. By finding an English word that accents one in Urdu, though its meaning is sometimes completely unrelated, I trademark my work in a way that allows the reader into my world—one of a multilingual, spiritual, and culturally enthusiastic content creator.

---

Good morning!

12:00 am

7:53 am

The day begins

below us.

The day starts ahead of us.

It ends

and we retire

to start before

and end after.

There is a system

of us and then the system of nature.

Night owls and early morning birds

You follow the moon

or keep up with the sun

but admit it--

we have all embraced the

made-up

system,

the cycle, the rhythm

but as unnatural as it is--

I question the sunrise

below the sea

underneath

I don't think the fish even know

what "morning" means

Alarm on. Alarm off. Up. Bathroom. Breakfast. School. Work.

the morning is apparently

below and beneath

us too.

Afternoon. Evening. Night. Day again.

I feel an anchor

pull

funny--we can float

when even the fish don't.

11:59 am

but good morning to you too.