Her Prism of Hushed Things by Wajeeh Imtiaz

Every word an author writes reflects what they have lived.

These words are mine. They reflect what I encountered in the four years of my graduation – as a girl becoming a woman, as a friend, a student, a daughter, and above all, as a human being trying to understand what it means to exist in this particular skin, in this particular world.

At this age, I still fear to name certain things. But I am learning that the things we fear to name are usually the things most worth writing about. When I will find the courage, and I will find it, I will write everything. I will publish everything.

These four years changed my perception. They changed me. The moment I began to write, my thoughts took shape. My inner self started a journey towards a world that had never existed for me before- a world where I was allowed to feel what I felt, to say what I saw, to name what had no name.

There were times I cried without knowing the reason for my tears. There were times I complained to the Almighty- questioned Him, argued with Him, fell silent before Him. And in that silence, He gave me this – the ability to write.

When despair came, I chose the pen over the cry. I have called this book Her Prism of Hushed Things because it represents the moment I stopped hiding from my own reflections. These poems are the light passing through the quietest parts of my soul; they are the result of learning to trust that even the things we whisper in the dark deserve to be seen in full.

What you hold in your hands is the silence.

The tempest comes later.