Where Do You Go When the Genocide is Too Loud?

In the cracks / between / my teeth, where / my prayers / take shape.

Artwork by Candice Evers 
In the cracks
between
my teeth, where
my prayers
take shape.
In the hollow
of my palms, where
they are answered.

Fatima Abdullahi

Fatima Abdullahi is a writer across genres. She won the 2025 Isele Poetry Prize, placed second in the 2023 Dreamfoundry Emerging Writer’s Contest, and was runner up in the 2023 Valiant Scribe Poetry Competition. She was also one of the five winners of the Abebi Afro-nonfiction Award for her essay “Roots.” Her carefully crafted works have appeared in several literary spaces, including: Dark Matter Magazine, Augur Magazine, Midnight & Indigo, Isele Magazine & Lolwe, among others. She stands for truth and freedom from oppression, and is a staunch advocate of the Palestinian cause.

Candice Evers

I’m Candice Evers, a St. Louis-based illustrator with an MFA in Illustration and Visual Culture from Washington University in St. Louis and a graduate of Wellesley College. I live with my two smedium-sized dogs, Indy (pictured left) and Junie B.