Iphigenia’s Farewell by Huda Ismail (Egypt, 24)

I am someone that Death did not choose
The waters, silenced with a warning
The fruit of love, dangled before my eyes
A deer caught in the headlights
The sins of the father, a haunting reminder
That the lies of men bring the demise of the less fortunate
At Aulis, I plead to you
with Heaven in your eyes
And Hell in my father’s
I am someone that Death did not choose
I am as sacred as the holy wars you wage
I am as lustrous as the blade you lay
on my neck
on my neck

The fruit of love is rotten and decayed
“The wind must rise!” their shouts prevail
they must pay
they must pay
My fate is in your hands but my life will not be in vain
I’ll succumb my gaze to the Earth and pray
For my blood to taint your waking days
Let this be the end of all wars
Let this be the oblation you seek
I give you my eyes, my heart, my life
I give you the girl you didn’t wish to rear
I am someone that Death did not choose
I am someone that Life forfeited





Huda Ismail (she/her) is an Egyptian dentist, writer, poet and film interviewer. Her varied work has been featured in Screen Speck, Film Slop, Springer Nature and hotpot magazine. If there’s one thing she loves more than writing, it’s her orange tabby, Wanda.