A human being. Yes. Must be. No more protection of the womb. It is bare earth. The city is alive. Breathing. Singing. Crying. The sun is up. Heat. The sky, clear and blue. A body next to the wall. Yes, it's a body. Looks like a vulture. Like dirty rags. Like a pile of drying shit. But … still … a human being. Rotting. Slouching towards oblivion. Yes. Oblivion. The man stops. Watching. He walks closer to the body. Stops. Looking. Examining. Seeing. He takes a step back. Stops. He says something. Nothing. Silence. He says something again. Nothing. Silence.
Adnan Adnan won the Ruth MacLean McGee Award (2013) and the Chalk Hill Artist’s Residency Grant (2018) for outstanding achievement in creative nonfiction.