{"id":19612,"date":"2025-05-21T14:07:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T19:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/?p=19612"},"modified":"2025-05-31T20:42:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T01:42:07","slug":"cumulonimbus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2025\/05\/21\/cumulonimbus\/","title":{"rendered":"Cumulonimbus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong><strong>Cumulonimbus<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-social-links-is-layout-765c4724 wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-facebook  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61556140010887\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12 2C6.5 2 2 6.5 2 12c0 5 3.7 9.1 8.4 9.9v-7H7.9V12h2.5V9.8c0-2.5 1.5-3.9 3.8-3.9 1.1 0 2.2.2 2.2.2v2.5h-1.3c-1.2 0-1.6.8-1.6 1.6V12h2.8l-.4 2.9h-2.3v7C18.3 21.1 22 17 22 12c0-5.5-4.5-10-10-10z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-instagram  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/boudin_mcneese\/\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12,4.622c2.403,0,2.688,0.009,3.637,0.052c0.877,0.04,1.354,0.187,1.671,0.31c0.42,0.163,0.72,0.358,1.035,0.673 c0.315,0.315,0.51,0.615,0.673,1.035c0.123,0.317,0.27,0.794,0.31,1.671c0.043,0.949,0.052,1.234,0.052,3.637 s-0.009,2.688-0.052,3.637c-0.04,0.877-0.187,1.354-0.31,1.671c-0.163,0.42-0.358,0.72-0.673,1.035 c-0.315,0.315-0.615,0.51-1.035,0.673c-0.317,0.123-0.794,0.27-1.671,0.31c-0.949,0.043-1.233,0.052-3.637,0.052 s-2.688-0.009-3.637-0.052c-0.877-0.04-1.354-0.187-1.671-0.31c-0.42-0.163-0.72-0.358-1.035-0.673 c-0.315-0.315-0.51-0.615-0.673-1.035c-0.123-0.317-0.27-0.794-0.31-1.671C4.631,14.688,4.622,14.403,4.622,12 s0.009-2.688,0.052-3.637c0.04-0.877,0.187-1.354,0.31-1.671c0.163-0.42,0.358-0.72,0.673-1.035 c0.315-0.315,0.615-0.51,1.035-0.673c0.317-0.123,0.794-0.27,1.671-0.31C9.312,4.631,9.597,4.622,12,4.622 M12,3 C9.556,3,9.249,3.01,8.289,3.054C7.331,3.098,6.677,3.25,6.105,3.472C5.513,3.702,5.011,4.01,4.511,4.511 c-0.5,0.5-0.808,1.002-1.038,1.594C3.25,6.677,3.098,7.331,3.054,8.289C3.01,9.249,3,9.556,3,12c0,2.444,0.01,2.751,0.054,3.711 c0.044,0.958,0.196,1.612,0.418,2.185c0.23,0.592,0.538,1.094,1.038,1.594c0.5,0.5,1.002,0.808,1.594,1.038 c0.572,0.222,1.227,0.375,2.185,0.418C9.249,20.99,9.556,21,12,21s2.751-0.01,3.711-0.054c0.958-0.044,1.612-0.196,2.185-0.418 c0.592-0.23,1.094-0.538,1.594-1.038c0.5-0.5,0.808-1.002,1.038-1.594c0.222-0.572,0.375-1.227,0.418-2.185 C20.99,14.751,21,14.444,21,12s-0.01-2.751-0.054-3.711c-0.044-0.958-0.196-1.612-0.418-2.185c-0.23-0.592-0.538-1.094-1.038-1.594 c-0.5-0.5-1.002-0.808-1.594-1.038c-0.572-0.222-1.227-0.375-2.185-0.418C14.751,3.01,14.444,3,12,3L12,3z M12,7.378 c-2.552,0-4.622,2.069-4.622,4.622S9.448,16.622,12,16.622s4.622-2.069,4.622-4.622S14.552,7.378,12,7.378z M12,15 c-1.657,0-3-1.343-3-3s1.343-3,3-3s3,1.343,3,3S13.657,15,12,15z M16.804,6.116c-0.596,0-1.08,0.484-1.08,1.08 s0.484,1.08,1.08,1.08c0.596,0,1.08-0.484,1.08-1.08S17.401,6.116,16.804,6.116z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Kathryn Silver-Hajo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><br>Mama used to sing to Sami and me at night, sounds of yearning emerging from deep in her chest like a trapped owl was trying to escape. Most mornings, Baba walked us to school, and he\u2019d say he needed quiet so he could plan his day. But when Mama took us, she\u2019d point to the sky and say, <em>the ones like ghazal-al-banat from the Ramadan fair, they\u2019re cumulus<\/em>. <em>They<\/em> <em>taste just like spun sugar.<\/em> Those resembling the feathers of a white dove were cirrus, she said. She\u2019d gaze at the slow-shifting shapes like she wished she could float along with them. But when the world darkened, the rumble and roar neared, and we closed our jackets against the bluster\u2014that was cumulonimbus.&nbsp;<br><br>When Mama got angry with us for complaining about school or chores, she\u2019d growl that we were ungrateful brats. <em>Try one day in a refugee camp, without running water or electricity, shit running in a channel through the middle of the street, mocking us, as if our lives were shit.<\/em> She\u2019d remind us that even though she got the highest grades at school, a scholarship to the best university, her father hadn\u2019t let her go because she was needed at home. I\u2019d hide in the broom closet when she talked like that, ashamed, shaken, and sad. She\u2019d pull me out, say, <em>but I do make the best stuffed eggplant in all of Beirut,<\/em> press two liras into my palm, send Sami and me to the market for a sackful of the tiniest ones we could find because those were the tenderest. She\u2019d saut\u00e9, core and stuff each one, simmer them until the house sang with aromas of sweet spices, lamb and onions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">One time, Baba said I should climb the stairs to the roof, help Mama gather laundry from the line. There were white sheets, underwear, and t-shirts snapping around in the wind, smelling of cotton and electricity, but no Mama, until I noticed her standing too near the edge looking toward the horizon at the storm clouds gathering there, thunder and lightning rumbling around inside them like wasps in a hive. I tiptoed over to her so she wouldn\u2019t hear, took her hand and tugged. <em>Mama, please come inside. I\u2019ll make the whole dinner if you\u2019ll just sing to me.<\/em> She turned slowly, sighed. <em>All right, habibti,<\/em> she said, squeezing my hand. Like everything was all right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Kathryn Silver-Hajo<\/strong>\u2019s work appears, or is forthcoming, in <em>Atticus Review<\/em>, <em>Centaur Lit<\/em>, <em>CRAFT<\/em>, <em>Emerge Literary<\/em>, <em>Ghost Parachute<\/em>, <em>Gone Lawn<\/em>, <em>Milk Candy Review<\/em>, <em>New Flash Fiction Review<\/em>, <em>Pithead Chapel<\/em>, <em>Ruby Literary<\/em>, <em>The Phare<\/em>, and other lovely journals. Her stories were selected for the 2023 and 2024 Wigleaf Top 50 Longlists and nominated for Best of the Net, Pushcart Prize, Best Microfiction, Best Small Fictions, and Best American Food Writing. Kathryn\u2019s books include award-winning flash collection, <em>Wolfsong<\/em>, and award-winning novel, <em>Roots of The Banyan Tree<\/em>. More at: <a href=\"http:\/\/kathrynsilverhajo.com\/\">kathrynsilverhajo.com<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/kathryn.silverhajo\">facebook.com\/kathryn.silverhajo<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/KSilverHajo\">twitter.com\/KSilverHajo<\/a>; @<a href=\"http:\/\/kathrynsilverhajo.bsky.social\/\">kathrynsilverhajo.bsky.social<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/kathrynsilverhajo\">instagram.com\/kathrynsilverhajo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>__________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"438\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg 438w, https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1-300x145.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">\ud83e\udca0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2025\/05\/18\/trim-the-cauliflower\/\">Back<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2025\/05\/20\/cabin-fever\/\">Next<\/a> \ud83e\udca1<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">To learn more about submitting your work to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/boudin-submissions\/\">Boudin<\/a><\/em> or applying to McNeese State University&#8217;s Creative Writing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/mfa-application-submissions\/\">MFA program<\/a>, please visit Submissions for details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cumulonimbus Kathryn Silver-Hajo __________ Mama used to sing to Sami and me at night, sounds of yearning emerging from deep in her chest like a trapped owl was trying to escape. Most mornings, Baba walked us to school, and he\u2019d say he needed quiet so he could plan his day. But when Mama took us,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[230],"tags":[75,146,100,101],"class_list":["post-19612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-finding-home","tag-boudin","tag-fiction-2","tag-flashfiction","tag-microfiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19612"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19671,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19612\/revisions\/19671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}