Fatimah Asghar’s ‘[i can’t fight]’

A new poem by Fatimah Asghar from the LARB Quarterly, no 49: ‘Traffic.’

By Fatimah AsgharAugust 13, 2026

• LARB Lit

• Poetry

This poem is a preview of the LARB Quarterly, no. 49: Traffic. Become a member for more fiction, essays, criticism, poetry, and art from this issue—plus the next four issues of the Quarterly in print.

¤

[i can’t fight]

but for you i would

gladly get my ass kicked

to prove a point

the point being

my imagination gets away

from me most times

& the rare day i make

my way to the gym

& put my headphones on

& let myself dream

my weird dream thoughts

i become the star

of an action movie

no one wants to see,

where someone scuffs your shoe

& i rain my fists bloody

where some idiot scuffs your heart

& i cartwheel over three lanes

of traffic to save your honor

i burn down entire villages

of people who looked at you

the wrong way

the point being

my love for you

makes me a warrior

of a losing army,

the point being my love

could turn my body

into a punching bag, my love

you turn my body

into whistle, into a red light

and i beg for more

do you understand

what i’m saying—i would pain

for you, gladly, even when you didn’t,

even when you would never ask.

¤

Featured image: Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Battle of the Nudes, ca. 1489, is in the public domain. Accessed August 6, 2026. Image has been cropped.