Get a Free Writer's Page at Writers, Poets, Playwrights
--
(Advertisement)
(Begin Magazine)
--
Switch between waxpoetryart.com publications:
Wax Poetry and Art
| Weekly Poems
| Haiku Imperium
SWAV Poetry
| Under 25 Poetry
| Young Poets World
Kirk Ramdath presents Visual Art
| Photographers from Earth
The Short Play's the Thing
| Flash Fiction Takeover
Read and Submit to the Poetry and Art News
Get a Free Writer's Page at Writers, Poets, Playwrights
--
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Visit waxpoetryart.com to explore poetry
(including haiku
and spoken word),
visual art,
photography,
play,
and fiction
submission opportunities.
Experience the thrills of the Weekly Poems Contest.
--
May 15th, 2026
Under 25 Poetry Europe Contest #3 – First Place
by Hamza Soliman
A beautiful hound, Malnourished and pregnant, Protecting a cage against fur, Collects dirt on her eight draping nipples, Feeds the babies, Barks in circulation, And a jort-wearing dyed walking buzzcut, Of Cairo streetwear empire descent, Talks about how much milk he likes in his matcha, His next tattoo idea, Newest drop. Giant gaunt pelicans with hollow eyes lined up outside fish stalls on the open road, Like sea-soaked gargoyle pillars of salt, Big blue freighters cruising in from the outstretched horizon, Small fishing boats speckled across the surface of the water, Crowds of people squawking out in the rubble road, Chickens twitching picking garbage out of the street outside a butcher house, Sand and cement and exposed brick buildings leaning forward and staggered against each other, Tall lights breathing onto the empty pale night street, Like grieving angels, ‘What have we done indeed...’ People in robes and sunburnt scarves approach you in the street, “Monie! Monie!”, Open palm, cloudy lactescent eyes, Sometimes deep dark sharp pitted hungry eyes, Wisps of anguish and despair in the folds of the skin, Like bats outside of hell. And in a bold vision a bored uniform officer shoots himself in the head, And is reborn in the spirit of an underpaid barista in a swanky matcha coffee shop, Comes face to face with an idiot child, And tells him ‘It’s too late’, ‘It’s over’ and spits in his matcha, Delicious, ‘Not too milky’ he says. Prophetic and high in the back of a car, Riding along the bleak ocean of night, I wake up into bright ecstasy and swirling thoughts, And nervous beats shuddering up and down my spine, Just then I heard gunshots and saw bombs exploding, And fire in the sky life angry ancient magic, When I ran outside in terror only to find that it was Fireworks and people laughing, and dancing and talking And having a good time.
About the Poet
Hamza Soliman resides in London, England, United Kingdom.
Read the poet's biography and Under 25 Poetry publications
on Hamza Soliman's Artist Page.
Under 25 Poetry Collection
This poem is also featured in
Under 25 Poetry Collection #3,
published in the Under 25 Poetry Library.
Previously published in Under 25 Poetry Europe:
For I Have Been Struck
by Aurora Nori
Under 25 Poetry Europe is part of Under 25 Poetry and waxpoetryart.com.
- Visit the Under 25 Poetry Submissions page to see all opportunities.
- Visit the Under 25 Poetry Library.
- This website and all contents ©Kirk Ramdath and specified artists.
(Advertisements)