Bio
Amal El-Sayed is a PhD candidate at Ain Shams University, Egypt, where she teaches English poetry at the Faculty of Al-Alsun (Languages). Her poems and stories appear in Poetry Pacific, Wyldblood Magazine, Poets Reading the News, and Writers Resist. You can find her on Instagram at @amal.el_sayed
Amal El-Sayed
This Is Why I Never Ask for Help
Nothing is ever free;
every act must be paid—
repaid.
She expects a smile,
he expects a kiss.
Can't they see
my shattered pieces, the broken bits?
the salt of tears
flowing over my lips,
leaving cracks and dips?
Such lips cannot stretch into a smile,
cannot curve into a kiss.
Such lips can barely even utter
HELP!
Please,
Don't let me be swallowed by this abyss.