Alma Simba is a writer, historian, and experimental sound artist interested in both the potentials and failures of words in capturing the human experience. Her subject matter is ancestral heritage and how indigenous black Africans can communicate and explore this history through oral traditions, memory, and imagination. She is part of the Ajabu Ajabu audio-visual collective in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Her writing has appeared in The Floor, SAPIENS, Myopia, and The Clare Market Review. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
hungry
he says i love you, but i know it is how i crust the bottom of the rice without burning it. dice fresh mango into salad of beef tomatoes curled parsley and water onion. a puddle of tears when i try to leave, the nightmare of waking up to a home that does not smell like rose lotion, lemongrass, hot cream, ginger root. who is to say, who is who, what is what. thin lines - attraction/infatuation seared coastline of fat on the sirloin steak. i drink wine after dinner, even after a week of him sending articles on the dangers of wild women. yet, cries when i pack my bags, cherry bark, basil stem, cashew butter and tonics for every day of the week. at the seaside barbecue burns, salt-air, memory: the door was hardwood, but i did not slam it closed, left it ajar, parted slightly. so the room could air out.
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Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established to publish and promote creative writing by Black women. We publish contemporary writing by experienced and emerging writers alike. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats.