TRACK//FOUR
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BACK TO VOLUME ONE // ISSUE FOUR

VANISHING ACT

SYED JARRI HAIDER
as the day begins to cast its long shadow 
in his old room
    strange things begin to happen
    one by one
    his trophies disappear from the shelves 
​the cracked Rolling Stones poster is ripped from the wall

present day extends its fingers over his old toys 
piece by piece
    it disassembles the miniature airplanes
    then waits for the new furniture to arrive:
    velvet drapes and a vintage chiffonier; 
guestroom extravaganza

takes over the room like an invading army 
each item
     justifying its place in this colonial order
    set against the stuttering drawl of a room
    learning its new purpose; this is feng shui’ed bliss 

made possible by an original vanishing act
 a child’s trick
    with implications as vast as empire
    but only visible in this light:
    late afternoon gracing all four corners, 
then a shard of sunset

dividing the room like a life, 
which is to say
    only at this time of day
    do the guests notice
    they’re unwelcome; which is to say 
an apparition sometimes overtakes reality

to demonstrate the room’s past use 
pausing between each frame
    to unveil his desk
    rustling papers
    a type-writer
    an empty chair 
​the gentle curve of his bent posture and then his hand

reaching for a glass of water 
which now falls
   as if of its own volition
   shattering like brittle bones
   so that in the second you look up from the disaster 
on the floor, he has staged yet another

​vanishing act.

SYED JARRI HAIDER is a young Pakistani poet who first entered into English poetry with a course on form, themes and images held by Desi Writers’ Lounge. Presently enrolled in the law program at UNSW Australia, he is trying to figure out Sydney’s transport system, and his new life as a potential migrant.
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  • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • CONTACT
    • CONTRIBUTORS
  • ISSUES
    • VOLUME ONE >
      • ISSUE ONE
      • ISSUE TWO
      • ISSUE THREE
      • ISSUE FOUR
    • VOLUME TWO >
      • ISSUE ONE
      • ISSUE TWO
      • ISSUE THREE
      • ISSUE FOUR
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • BLOG