When I ask him to cut as’ab
he hesitates, then shudders it gone.
He pulls a stalk away, shows his grandson
how to stomp it down, crack the stalk at the base
so the roots keep growing, shows him oud,
musical knuckle of root-band, bud furrow and leaf scar.
Canines tear and molars grind, we tongue
the sweet sting, spit pulp and pluck string while he
tells us how neighborhood kids spun quarters and
whacked them with a stick of as’ab.
Whoever stuck the spinning quarter got to keep it.
The quarter or the cane I ask, and he laughs.
Then I grew up. He holds the as’ab along one forearm
like an offered prayer, drives the knife down,
peels down the purple-green stalk and spins
one about fellahin who were sucking sugarcane
telling stories all night, couldn’t find their canes
and had to hobble home in the morning and he laughs
and we laugh hard, as hard as the year.
When I ask if I can help he shakes his head
because he once drove a knife down
into his forearm cutting as’ab
and his memory of sweetness with pain is long
and long, as long as the sugarcane.
Sherry Shenoda won the 2021 Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets for her poetry collection Mummy Eaters and was shortlisted for the 2019 Brunel International African Poetry Prize.
This poem originally appeared in Plough Quarterly No. 32. The author grants permission.
Sherry Shenoda’s latest book is Mummy Eaters (University of Nebraska Press, 2022). Visit with her and her work at the Miami Book Fair 2022. Cover art by: Ivy Close Images_Alamy Stock Photo.
Welcome to SWWIM Every Day’s preview coverage of Miami Book Fair (MBF) 2021! The poets whose work you’ll be reading every weekday from October 25 through November 12 are just a few of the many authors from around the world participating in this year’s MBF, the nation’s largest gathering of writers and readers of all ages. They all look forward to sharing their work, thoughts, and ideas both in person and online. Between November 14 and November 21, new poet conversations and readings will be launched and available for free on miamibookfaironline.com (in addition to other content). For more information, visit the website and follow MBF on Instagram and Twitter at @miamibookfair and use the hashtag #miamibookfair2021.