“Out of the Corner of My Eye” by Zohal Akbari
November 3, 2025
Out of the corner of my eye
I saw daffodils begin a life again
On bare parts of my skin
I felt the moisture of
ground touching clouds
I took a glance at an amber bowl
perhaps filled with the pure water
from the sky
The smell of what’s coming has memories,
different for each soul.
This poem was written by Zohal Akbari as an 11th grader at Seattle World School, with WITS writer-in-residence Samar Abulhassan. Performed at the Seattle Arts & Lectures Poetry Series event with Li-Young Lee at Rainier Arts Center on November 3, 2025.