from Aouatif to Isa

At a sushi bar at night with you,

I sleepwalk through the evening, intoxicated with equal parts fear and joy, the pair for once

at ease

around one another.

I feel warm. Why can’t I stop giggling? 

Tomorrow, I’ll wake, 

the taste of tuna and green tea lingering on my tongue,

still drunk on thoughts of Walt Whitman and you…

I jot these thoughts down on a napkin with a waitress’s pen—it’s December, and yet I feel

such

warmth.

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Ahmed Qaid is a Yemeni American writer, filmmaker, and photographer. His works center on the experiences of the Arab diaspora and explore themes such as memory, belonging, and the loss of cultural heritage through a mixture of personal reflections and fictional narratives.