by Kasia Van Schaik
Hang the white towel in the open door
wait in cardinal silence for night to fold
in on itself, for the trucks idling in industrial solitude
to proceed blindly onto the ice
exhausting the city’s supplies on the wet shore
of our street, perfuming us with mysterious gases.
Eight neighbours behind eight doors
cursing privately collectively
In these moments it’s better not to speak
any language. To be mute and let the world think
against itself This is the city
This was the city
After Carolyn Forché
Kasia Van Schaik
Kasia Van Schaik is the author of the linked story collection We Have Never Lived on Earth, which was nominated for the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Concordia University First Book Prize. Her next book, Women Among Monuments, explores 20th century histories of female genius, asking what, beyond a room of one’s own, are the necessary conditions for artmaking.
Headlight Anthology 