The Afghan Woman
As she walks on the arid, sandy street,
a gust of wind sprints by her as she sees a ramshackle of a van race by her.
Her curiosity drives her to follow the object.
Once she has located it,
she sees clan of men march out of the vehicle
with long
metal like weapons.
She turns around and walks away,
not caring what could possibly happen.
From a distance
she hears the booming sound of fireworks.
She looks up,
no fireworks.
She suddenly remembers that her wedding is hours away,
but her naiveness drives her stop at the market
to buy a cherry flavored lollipop.
which tasted similar to the medicine her mother treated her with
to ease the pain
from the time she got shot.
Suddenly,
she remembers,
she is not allowed to walk alone on the streets.
She, at all times has to be escorted by a male.
She remembers,
she is a prisoner.
Monitored
every second,
as if she had committed a sinful crime,
more like she is the sinful crime.
Under the feverish sun, she walks home
while wearing her blue burqa, covering everything but her
beautiful blue eyes.
When she arrives home,
a sense of frustration pours down upon her, once again.
She makes eye contact with a man whom can pass as her own father.
She goes back to remembering
the sadness
the loneliness
the emptiness
she felt when her parents first exchanged her.
Their daughter.
Their only daughter.
Her aunts gather around her,
as they begin to decorate her
in fascinating jewelry.
Diamonds.
Gold.
The weight brought her down,
more than she already was.
Silence fills up the room.
Her sad eyes
define her face
for the rest of her life.
As time moves ahead.
She remembers
the day she lost her innocence.
As she realizes
she has three children to care of,
as one of her girls
was soon going to get married. 
Omg I loved this poem! That line about being a prisoner got me, and I love the idea of being trapped that you convey. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteThis poem was really great! I really liked the stanza about being a prisoner, I think that it was written very well stylistically and it was just a really good piece of the poem. You also had really strong diction throughout the poem. The part that stood out to me the most was the part about her being a sinful crime. :)
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you went into detail on the aspects of her life and how they made her a prisoner. My favorite line was when you referenced the woman in the poem as the sinful crime. Finally, I liked how your poem was all connected in a story and not fragmented experiences which makes your poem really strong.
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