“Flock”, in memory of Helen Joanne Cox’s death, demonstrates a quiet discomfort, a mournful submission of narrative continuity where the death of a chicken and the death of “a woman” “In the news” seems to grieve the world similarly. She doesn’t explicitly mention the politicisation of death, that is the patriarchal language she resists. Instead, she is tired, almost giving up, almost curling up in frustration and anger at the convoluted deaths of political figures. She grieves her in roses, rain, scent and high summer. Alma’s language is domestic and abundant in nature allusions, invoking a solitude of memory and loss.

In “Roshan”, Alma is celebrating and nostalgic for a light from the past, remembered and woven into clothes. Literally translating to “illumination” or “bright” in Persian and Urdu, Roshan, her second middle name, takes her back to her childhood. The mirror work or shisha embroidery, silver bangles, “bells at my feet” is a reference to the traditional tribal attire worn in Rajasthan, Gujrat states of India and the Sindh region of Pakistan. The tiny mirrors intricately woven into the hems was believed to ward off evil spirits, but in this poem, she sees her white skin reflected “tiny times over”. She expresses a sense of disjointedness. The “English Lamp” isn’t Roshan, but highlights ultimately the loss of light, the loss of culture, and a deep desire to hold on to it. Both these poems express mortality and women aging into a resistance that is quiet, sombre and laid heavy with a world that is embodied.   

Deborah made these recordings in July 2025 at Chapel Lawn Studios, Shropshire. Photographer credit Hayden Kitson.