Huda Chowdhery
What We Have Left / For Those To Come
How could I inhale the breath of great mountains,
Listen to the trees’ ancient whisper,
Quench thirst in creeks of cascading sapphires,
Thinking of anyone other than those to come?
I watch as the earth slips through my fingers,
And observe the debris resting in my palm.
I cry out as the earth slips through my fingers,
And am ordered to clean up their mess.
Trees and rocks will testify, and I am amongst them
Photographing, recording, documenting, preserving
Hoping, praying
There will be no use for my archive.
Their pain is ours, so let us ask one another
Whether we fulfilled the rights of earth and human,
And whether it will be enough,
What we have left.
about the author
Huda Chowdhery is an artist and activist from Yorkshire and a student of Politics and Philosophy. Her Islamic worldview and interest in aesthetic philosophy are the main drivers behind her aim to create positive change, which she does through writing, photography, and filmmaking. Her work celebrates the beauty of life and of everyday experience, seeking both to inspire gratitude and mindfulness in its recipients and to stir them into action.
all photos shared from Huda, to go alongside the poem.