Let it rain carmine from drunken clouds, dare I say, tonight –
Drown away in heedless gulps ‘loug kya kahen gay’ tonight.

Elope to the lost lands of inconsequential pleasure,
The ghosts of our childhoods wish to play tonight.

The misfortunes of this world will find some sanctuary,
When consciousness and stupor collide halfway tonight.

They have never tasted love, what would they know? Hapless priests!
The joys of wine and lust alike they will gainsay tonight.

Heaven might be inherited in lieu of innocence,
For your lustrous caresses, I will be led astray tonight.

Pour over your body, soul and spirit zamzam in vain,
Ills of our fathers ablution can’t wash away tonight.

Bathe yourself in virgin and divine scents all you desire,
Even ittr would not make the angels cross our way tonight.

I am not the same, nor you, our pasts no more around,
We are two unholy shadows, faiths on display tonight.

While rosaries burn with incandescent vintage flames,
We will count every speck of ash ‘til doomsday tonight.

But kneel and grovel for mercy once darkness surrenders,
After all, we’re sinners on Judgment Day tonight.

Born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan, Laiba Fatima moved to the States at the age of 18 to go to college. She is now a rising junior at Vanderbilt University, TN, majoring in English and minoring in Mathematics. With her major, she hopes to pursue a career in book publishing/ literature curation.