*gasp* A poem? On WaxesPoetic? "But Neiha," I hear you say, "I thought you said you wouldn't be-" Yes. I know. But exceptions prove the rule, and I was very sweetly asked to share this poem somewhere on social media more than once today, and - most importantly - it's a poem about Laylat-ul-Qadr, my … Continue reading Ghazal for Laylat-Ul-Qadr
Author: Neiha Lasharie
25-year-old graduate student studying international law and conflict in Boston. Via Dubai + Lahore.
Going home to Janelle Monae
Let me just say as the vibe for this post, I meant to type "Wordpress" and typed "LiveJournal" into my browser instead. So that's where my mind is, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, towards the end of my first year as a graduate student, on the eve (not really, but it sounds prettier … Continue reading Going home to Janelle Monae
Warning: Bummer of a blog-post
All my life, I have told myself to wait for the future. I have invested in my future both resources and my own emotions. That’s a pretty banal thing to say, in its ordinary meaning. We all do this. But I have done it to such an extent that I have failed - or at … Continue reading Warning: Bummer of a blog-post
Grief
One of my best and oldest friends died two days after I got engaged. I had known her for 12 years, since I was about 13 and she was 14. We met the way a lot of people increasingly meet now - online, in silly circumstances that don't require recounting now that I'm in my … Continue reading Grief
Review: Norman F-cking Rockwell
Years and years ago, I used to publish music reviews on this blog. They were usually my most engaged-with posts, albeit before "engagement" was as much of a buzzword as it is now. But the reason I posted those reviews was not for engagement purposes. I was at an important moment in my life, passing … Continue reading Review: Norman F-cking Rockwell
Short note: the fallacy of being enough
I should lead with the fact that as of beginning this blog post, it is 5:43am. I am - unshockingly, and despite my best efforts - jetlagged. I don't feel guilty about this fact; it just is. But attempting to fall asleep in vain has meant lying awake with my intrusive thoughts. I don't mind … Continue reading Short note: the fallacy of being enough
Growth and change: Soliciting feedback
Dear readers, This reads much like an ending. I promise, it is definitely not that. For the first time in a few years, this summer, I well-and-truly get to have a summer. In the fall, I'll be starting my graduate program, the Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at The Fletcher School at Tufts … Continue reading Growth and change: Soliciting feedback
Against Contrivance
Foreword About once a month, a group I really adore called Subcontinental Drift Boston puts on an open mic. Last (October? September?) year, I started making a regular appearance, reading my poetry at their open mics. It's become, above all, a way to engage with the South Asian community in the Greater Boston Area. Every … Continue reading Against Contrivance
On being mentored
Sometime in my last semester of college, I found myself crying on my therapist's couch. Okay, this is vague - I spent a lot of my last semester of college crying on my therapist's couch. In retrospect, I was genuinely in the throes of an existential crisis, but a major perk of being incredibly high-functioning … Continue reading On being mentored
Revisiting rejections
Many, many years ago, when I was far more active on this blog than I am today, I used to write music reviews, book reviews, day-to-day updates, anything that I wanted to just get down and out there. A part of me misses the lack of self-consciousness with which I treated my own writing. The … Continue reading Revisiting rejections
Neiha Lasharie 