Understudy Emperor’s The

.wounded was I ,ago Long

.syntax that of student a became I

pain ,pain preceded Power

emperor my ,fear possible made

which on line the ,language the

years how—it isn’t ,Funny .faltered I

impossible ,minutes angled of full

one of width the to wither can ,hours

.knelt I .served I ?sentence small

off took I ,one by One .owned was I

was I .socks his ,shoes his

yes of Lapdog .told was I as

.chain gold a with girl Good .Sir

back take will it if me Unmoney

black night’s the ,dreamfield the

morning’s the ,thrash viscous and

what for sieve A .rot of replica

.rest the for ceremony and remains

—width simple own its remains What

lived I

 

This poem is written in a poetic form created by Sanam Sheriff called the Dore, which in Urdu, means line, chord, rope, or thread.  To satisfy its parameters: 1) The first and last line must split a quote by someone the poet considers to be part of their lineage; the poem fills this frame. 2) The poem, when written in English, is to follow the visual and directional conventions of the poet’s mother tongue. In the case of Urdu, this means the poem is right-justified and read from right to left. The Dore invites poets into conversation with both chosen and inherited lineages. It seeks to honor the languages from which we first came to language.

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SANAM SHERIFF is a queer poet, artist, and educator from Bangalore, India. Their debut poetry collection “HUM ہم” (University of Nebraska Press) will be published in the fall of 2026. Sanam holds an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis and their work has been published in POETRY, Indiana Review, The Rumpus, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Academy of American Poets, Outlook India, and elsewhere. Sanam lives in Philadelphia, where they curate The Poets’ Studio with Twelve Gates Arts.

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