Day 1: Poetry-A-Day for Ramadan

Welcome to Ramadan, and welcome to writing poems daily this month.

For the month of Ramadan, I’ll be sharing daily prompts so that you too can participate in the Poetry-A-Day for Ramadan writing group. This newsletter will be for paid subscribers only. You can purchase my collection of Ramadan poems in my latest poetry book “Grasping at This Planet Just to Believe” right here.

I first started writing a poem a day for the month of Ramadan after my mother died. I had felt so disconnected from myself, and living, and a connection to something bigger than myself - that I was urgently looking for a way to find myself again. Ramadan has always been that time of stillness and reconnection for me. Fasting stills the mind, and the rituals and prayers during Ramadan always re-grounded my spirituality. But in grief, I found myself spiraling and unable to grasp on to anything. So I leaned into a ritual that I knew I found the most comfort in - poetry. Through poetry I was able to express myself, be myself, and speak to Allah to find myself.

I wrote a poem a day that Ramadan - and though I fasted and prayed and abstained - writing poetry that month was where I found the most enlightenment. And every Ramadan I’ve written a poem a day since.

This year, I invite you to join me and my Muslim and Muslim-ish friends to write a poem a day for Ramadan. Allah knows we need it - this fortifying of self and community in what is going to be a very difficult political and spiritual time. For the past decade, I have been hosting a group of poets online (facebook group, Medium, Discord) to write a poem a day. The rules are simple - a) commit to something creative daily b) share one piece a week (mandatory) and/or daily (preferred) c) respond to each other’s poetry shares. Through this group, I have developed some of my deepest friendships, and learned how to love through nurturing each others creativity and been a witness to the deep vulnerability of my friends.

Here’s how to join - subscribe to the “Poet-for-Ramadan” tier of the substack here for $50/ month - if you are a free subscriber, you have to switch your subscription tier.

I will send out daily newsletter of prompts and poems written by myself or people in the group. I will also add you to the discord group so that you can be in community with our fantastic writers. You don’t have to be Muslim to participate - you just have to be Muslim adjacent i.e. an understanding and respect.

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For today, a poem…

Ramadan Rituals

Sage the apartment from corner to floor.
Dust off the blue prayer mat.
Carry three juicy dates in a Ziploc bag at all times.
Look deep to the sky for the new moon.
Download the Ramadan app for your phone.
Eat Frosted Flakes for suhoor.
Clutch the thosbees you wear around your wrist.
Say Bismillah.
Read your star sign daily.
Take your shoes off at the door and hang them from the power lines.
Whisper spells and suras and manifestations.
Wrap a scarf around your neck that doubles as hijab, as needed.
Eat pistachio flavored frozen yogurt with cookie dough after tarawih prayer.
Wear an amulet Allah necklace around your neck.
Make a wish setting your intentions.
Practice celibacy.
Make sure your mustard oil is fresh.
Light a Guadalupe jar candle nightly for those not home. 
Leave the porch light on outside for Dad for when he comes home from the mosque.
Get an iftar to-go box from Little Bangladesh to eat in your car.
Water your plants – don’t forget because you can’t drink water yourself.
Take a nap.
Ground yourself by sinking deeply into the earth, then breathe.
Do not say that you are hungry or thirsty.
Gaze at the moon through a gauzy dupatta for a ring.
Ignore the judgmental auntie stares when in Artesia shopping for an Eid outfit.
Pay zakat online to your favorite Muslim civil rights group. 
Pull out $10 cash from the bank to pay for parking at Eid prayer.
Roll roshogullahs so tight that they squeak when eaten. 
Paint henna on your hands then fall asleep open handed. 
Pray on plastic in a large suburban convention center. 
Pour one out for the homies.
Lay flowers at the grave.
Cry.

And a prompt…

As we begin the holy month of Ramadan, what are the rituals you will be practicing today to help you set your intentions?

Ramadan Mubarak, beloveds. May this month fill us with love and fortify us to keep fighting for justice for all which is good.

- Taz

P.S.

If you are looking for other books to help you along this Ramadan, I’ll be re-reading Kazim Ali’s Fasting for Ramadan and Secrets of Divine Love by A. Helwa.