Living Space describes a vision of a precariously created slum town. Content, ideas, language and structure are explored. Comparisons and alternative interpretations are also considered.
There are just not enough straight lines. That is the problem. Nothing is flat or parallel. Beams balance crookedly on supports thrust off the vertical. Nails clutch at open seams. The whole structure leans dangerously towards the miraculous. Into this rough frame, someone has squeezed a living space and even dared to place these eggs in a wire basket, fragile curves of white hung out over the dark edge of a slanted universe, gathering the light into themselves, as if they were the bright, thin walls of faith.
Living Space by Imtiaz Dharker, reprinted by permission of Bloodaxe Books.
Note: this poem is included for reference purposes, please refer to your anthology for the definitive version.