Tissue by Imtiaz Dharker

Dharker suggests that the documents we rely on to document and manage our lives — such as receipts, maps, sacred texts, and birth certificates — are delicate and, in the end, less substantial than the actual lives they aim to represent. The poem encourages us to appreciate transparency and impermanence instead of the rigid frameworks of power and identity.

'Tissue' operates on two levels. On one hand, it refers to tissue paper — thin, translucent, and delicate. On the other hand, it signifies human tissue, encompassing skin and flesh. The title captures both meanings simultaneously, leading you to realize by the end of the poem that Dharker has been discussing human bodies just as much as paper throughout.

Light shining through paper represents Dharker's idea of truth or clarity. Transparent objects cannot hide or warp what they reveal. On the other hand, solid, opaque things — such as walls, borders, and rigid authority — obstruct the light. Throughout the poem, translucency is portrayed as a desirable trait.

Placing sacred and mundane objects together in the same list is a conscious decision. Dharker isn’t mocking religion; instead, she highlights that all paper, no matter how significant the words it carries, has the same physical fragility. This acts as a leveling gesture that honors human devotion while challenging the authority of any one document.

Almost every kind of paper in the poem ties back to power: maps define political boundaries, receipts document economic exchanges, birth certificates create legal identities, and architectural plans influence constructed spaces. Dharker's argument is that all these symbols of power are printed on materials that can be torn by hand — subtly challenging the authority they represent.

The poem features short stanzas that have a loose structure and lack a consistent rhyme scheme. The lines often spill over into one another, much like light seeping through delicate paper. This form reflects the content: nothing is rigid or set in stone; everything flows and intertwines.

The final turn — where skin becomes tissue — changes the context of everything that came before. The poem shifts from being just about documents to addressing human mortality. We are as fragile and fleeting as paper, and Dharker reveals this not as something to dread but as a straightforward, even beautiful, truth.

Yes, it does carry a subtle political message. Written in the aftermath of 9/11, featuring images of maps, borders, and religious texts, the poem tackles themes of nationalism, faith, and identity. However, Dharker explores these themes using gentle imagery instead of blunt declarations, which is what lends the poem its enduring impact.