Literature The Youth Issue

Poem: An overexposed world

"for once I wish we'd not be so stressed"

By Carina Milena Maceira

everyone is busy

busy adjusting their collars, their faces, scarves, watches, wives, nannies, conversations, computers, coffee lids

turning, chasing, stifling, ejecting

propelling into the dense yet trivially eclectic air like in this millisecond of a bustling coffee shop you can be anyone you want to be with none of the world caring, yet

still

the walls manage to bleed, like a carcass being drained into rosebuds onto a perfectly curated stage

decorated with puppets that always have one ear glued to the grapevine

hand glued to a device

eyes glued to lights and digits and algorithms yet all too insidiously aware of the person who is unaware they’re being watched as well, so just in case

they continue adjusting

whilst I wish they’d all be too happy to care

like spilled coffee and feverish laughter of a wedding or a baby on the horizon

for once I wish we’d not be so stressed

so tightly tuned yet playing no hymns

maybe, maybe it’s just me

maybe that puffed chest posture of his comes natural and the stiffness in the next fellow is just second nature and all of the women are happy,

eyes down

Artwork by Bahraini illustrator Hana Khadem.

eyes up

eyes to the side

hold

adjust

glance

repeat

fake a laugh, an adjective, a noun, a sentiment, a belief

maybe it’s just me and my record scratched eyes clouded between let downs, job interviews, partisanship and fuzzy noise

fuzzy noise like overexposure to light

overexposure to such a busy world

The views of the authors and writers who contribute to Sekka, and the views of the interviewees who are featured in Sekka, do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Sekka, its parent company, its owners, employees and affiliates.

Carina Milena Maceira is a 20 year old, Latina poet, teacher and activist. Carina grew up in America primarily raised by her Kuwaiti family, adding to her multicultural identity that often shows in her creative expression. She has been published in Hooligan Magazine, The Miami Chronicles, Yes Poetry, Jaffat El Aqlam. She is also the Founding Editor in Chief of Ink & Oil magazine.