National Poetry Month Spotlight: Hana Shafi

We’re back with the eighth feature in our National Poetry Month Poet Spotlight series. Next up is Hana Shafi!

We have had the pleasure of publishing two collections of Hana’s renowned illustrations and poetry including It Begins with the Body and People You Know, Places You’ve Been. We additionally published her book of essays Small, Broke, and Kind of Dirty: Affirmations for the Real World in 2020. 

Without further ado, please enjoy “tough teen bitches” from People You Know, Places You’ve Been, which is available for purchase from your local bookseller or through our eStore! Please follow along for more National Poetry Month Poet Spotlights all month long.

tough teen bitches

she was the scariest girl in school

suspended a number of times

later expelled, hangs in the toughest

of crowds, i heard she ripped out

a chunk of some girl’s hair, i heard

she draws blood when she fights

she’s the real deal, and damn you

alphabetical seating arrangement

we were desk buddies in English

every day i sat tensely, forced myself

to sit quietly, don’t wheeze, breathe

sometimes my nose whistles

but i put a stop to that.

doodling during class, she looks

at my notebook

“is that Lord of the Rings?” she asks

“um, ya,” oh no, what if she punches people

who watch Lord of the Rings?

“i love those movies!i watched them all during christmas break!”

her smile is warm and i figure

she’s not so scary after all