A poem
written in response to the Delhi gang rape case -By Silmi Abdullah VFJ Toronto
WOMAN
I am fire,
the lone flame
on your candle,
hope in your darkest hour.
A little timid, a little coy,
I burn in selfless love
through the night,
trembling,
flickering in fear
of that moment
when dawn seeps through the window
and with one blow
you extinguish my existence.
Then you resurrect me,
when daylight betrays
and I continue to burn,
burn in selfless love.
But beware,
make it not your habit,
for I am Fire,
that timid, insignificant flame
that morphs into wildfire
blazing through the forests,
reckless, uncontrollable,
burning down
jungles of injustice.
I am water.
The tranquil stream
caressing harsh mountains
flowing eternally
through earth’s breast
so that you may quench your thirst.
I am your oasis
of hope, of life
in your heart’s dead Sahara.
I am singing rain
that awakens
the sleeping buds of love
in your solitary soul.
but do not be fooled
for I am the rising ocean
leaping in rage,
my turbulent waves
engulfing
your compass-less vessel of immorality
I am air,
the gentle summer breeze
that heals your tortured skin.
Take it not for granted,
for soon I shall return
as a hurricane,
sweeping through the land
with unfathomable force
demolishing structures of all evil.
I am earth,
giver of life,
torn apart in pain
over and over again
as novel lives
sprout through my core.
I let you walk over me,
for days,
for months,
for years,
But a moment arrives
unannounced, uninvited
when I quiver violently
till your sky-scraping arrogance
crumbles to ashes
and I see through the clear skies
an emerging paradise
And then I rest in peace…
