I lost my fiance in a war by Fizza Abbas (Pakistan, 29)

​Four-thousand-and-fifty days, five-thousand nights,
A grey-haired woman peers through her telescope,
Searching for the moon that wanders alone,
Yearning for the shadow that once embraced it.

The pitch-black umbra surrounds the moon,
A throwback to that starry night of old,
When Luftwaffe's flames kindled the flicker,
And the face of death shimmered in her world.
​
Two barrage balloons fell from the sky,
As thunder roared through angry, black clouds,
She glimpsed fragments of a dive bomber's skin,
Painting the heavens amidst her bird's feathers.

During lunar eclipses, she adorns her hand,
With an engagement ring, a golden tomb,
Reflecting light, unveiling his portrait,
A fiery figure framed by Earth's dark shadow.
​
Yet her telescope falls short in size,
His image appears larger than life itself.





Fizza Abbas is a writer based in Karachi, Pakistan. She is fond of poetry and music. Her work has appeared in more than 90 journals, both online and in print. Her work has also been nominated for Best of The Net and shortlisted for Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition 2021.  She tweets @fizzawrites. ​