Learning to Breathe

BECAUSE YOU SAID, "ENJOY!" It's getting harder to enjoy the day When the neighbour's son is questioned For growing his beard, When the girl with a cloth Over her head Is mocked for having no sense Of progress, of modernity, of civilization. It's getting harder to enjoy the day When the little girl With the foreign sounding name Is the last to be picked On the cricket team, When elders warn the young, Don't say it aloud Don't send it as a message Delete everything you have When all you have is nothing. Nothing upon nothing upon nothing. It's getting harder to enjoy the day When a mob murders a man Cutting him to pieces Ecstatic in celebration, While they stay busy Studying the type of meat He was carrying, And they are still Ecstatic in celebration. It's getting harder to enjoy the day When they say They all say They have weapons Weapons to protect the land, (To guar...

VEILED VOICES The setting sun may frown and scowl at it, Arrogant, believing it's seen the world. Yet it has shone o'er the East before it, Where the journey began, where life unfurled. Black cloaks against the golden desert sand, Veiled, concealed - unmistakably human. Hearken to the voices and understand The robust, resonant power of women. Stormy tempests may maraud continents, But veils live on immortal, forever. Standing steady with growing confidence, Enlightened minds - a towering figure. The veil she wears with conscious volition Just one prayer - Long Live the Revolution! - Maryam Kaleem