it’s the blue doors of Husam’s Toyota Corolla that get you to heaven

Dujie Tahat

—at least I think so.

I didn’t pay

that good of attention

in Quran study

or Mosque school

or whatever

those lessons

were called

or wherever

dad’s from with

that funny accent.

It’s all the same

to me—curry or kibeh,

tacos or turmeric.

All the same

like houses lined

up neatly in a row

like men at salat,

like you & the closest

person next to you. 

I don’t know—

I am willful in my ignorance

I am willful in my willfulness

in my ignorance & my dad—

wherever he is, inshallah—just broke

a nervous sweat. My God,

how did Allah even make it

into here? Why did it take

so long? Listen, I know

subhanallah is shibboleth—

never had to convince me none.

Even my Turkish Lyft driver knew 

I was one of his from the jump

& was quick to bid my father

his best. 


Dujie Tahat is a Filipino-Jordanian-American writer from Washington state. His poems have been published or are forthcoming in Arcturus Magazine, Cascadia Rising Review, Across the Margin, Sakura Review, Crab Creek Review, Flypaper Magazine, and The American Journal of Poetry. He serve as a contributing poetry editor for Pacific Northwest literary magazine Moss and recently earned fellowships from the Hugo House and Jack Straw Writing Program. Dujie has been a Seattle Poetry Slam Finalist, a collegiate grand slam champion, and Seattle Youth Speaks Grand Slam Champion, representing Seattle at HBO's Brave New Voices. Find him on twitter @dujietahat

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