& i mean that literally
there is no time
not
in an urgent sense
there is no time meaning
time is not a force at play
here
time-less as in without
time something like longing
your music fulls
the space between my ears
like a sadness
years into mourning
you
i learn ashes
can be pressed into vinyl
wonder what song i would be
materially
choose between two
both feature the sound
of a record crackling
maybe i like my texts like i like my people
self-reflexive
the bridge is the section of a composition
that contrasts with the rest
creates a moment between
returning verse
or chorus
a bridge can be a way out or a way
in
& you are in
me
my body
painted a different shade
soundwaves reverberate
repeat
i want to live here always
repeat
& now that i left
there is record of me
repeat
i will be with you forever
in the sound from a needle
gliding on my grooves
to echo in someone’s head
like a sadness
& i could take you there
soundtrack: climax, slum village
the only measure is heart
what makes it pulse faster
no constant metre marks mood
how breath becomes breathless
everyone a compass
each body its own
internal tempo means i’m always
on time
improvise respond
a way of moving
through it to speed it & i exist
in a stopped time
& every time at the same
time tell me what it means to record
a beat & play & replay
record grooves pressed to vinyl
& the sound the sound
listen to this d u s t between us
can’t say where i am
it’s its own place maybe
the only real place i know
Tina Zafreen Alam is a diasporic Bangladeshi poet who does not believe in space, time, or borders. She is calling on you to commit your heart, body, and soul to fighting for the liberation of Palestine and of all oppressed people around the globe. We owe it to ourselves, and to one another. Revolution until complete liberation for all of us, all together.