I see a shadow,
A little shadow
I hear some voices,
Them getting narrow…
I sigh and close my eyes,
Fully anticipating a row…
Wearily I rest my head
On my knees,
As numbness fills
Every part of me…
‘Snatch’, I hear
I jerk my head up
The shadow I saw
Became many as they near!
I see hands,
All dark and bloody
Reaching out to
Tear every part of me…
I put my hands up
To protect myself,
To fight for my
Honor and dignity!
I see their hands
Crawling in the air
Their big talons
Ready to tear my wear…
I tighten up my
Outer cover, my
Inside shaken to the core
I try to stop
Those hands reaching me
But my honor – my niqab,
They tore…
I scream in anguish
As my honor kisses the dust
‘Learn a lesson’, I hear
Their voice, ‘she must!’
‘The veil she wears
Is nothing but a
Hurdle in attaining
New heights; we can’t
Identify her for we
Can’t see any
Part of her being…’
They said this and more
But my eyes were fixed
Firmly on the floor,
Tears welled up in
My eyes- as I witnessed
My honor’s cruel demise…
Today it was the veil,
Tomorrow it’d be something else
Ever so hot in our trail
Those hands never stop or fail!
With closed minds, and
Eyes firmly shut,
They see or hear nothing
Just follow what they want,
New ideologies ever they flaunt…!
The closed quarter
That’s what it is
No freedom to practice
What one’s religion teaches…!
The dark shadows now
Retreat, their job was done -
They left a battered
Soul behind…
…dented the body was
but
The spirit remained unbroken,
I stood up as hope filled
My mind…
The closed quarter
That’s what the
World has become!
Targeting, degrading
Not tolerating 'ny gem,
Who’s hurting whom?
Who’s losing what?
Closed quarters,
Some people are hiding
Behind them…