jAnAn
09-06-02, 08:03 PM
Hijab
from the scarfhead you glanced at
uneasily as you went past in the street today
as you pretended to take aim and fire
as you scornfully called out go back to iran or
wherever
how old this is getting
i'd rather write about the sky
response #1: go with your gut, girl
i wear this for fun, actually.
it's a scarf. deal with it.
response #2: politics and the fine art of the reactionary
no, i'm not oppressed -
not a soldier of wrath - no, i'm not
patriarchy's last victim -
no, i do have rights -
i'm not a fundamentali -
hey. Hey! I'm talking to you -
response #3: the appeal to intellect through reason
I want someday
to manage the word God in a poem
without committing travesty
response #4: it's ironic
how what covers my hair
slows traffic
scares boys
stops ultraviolet rays
starts riots
keeps my ears warm in winter.
"You never understood me. You never really tried."- Kate Bush
from the scarfhead you glanced at
uneasily as you went past in the street today
the one you judged and dismissed
in the fraction of a second it took for your eyes
to transmit the image to your brain.
it is being written out of a weary kind of anger
because really i mean
it's only a scarf. Relax
the first response: go with your gut
i wear it
because i want to. deal with it.
the second response: politics and the fine art of the reactionary
no i'm not oppressed
no i don't come from iran
no i'm not a fundamentali-
hey. Hey! I'm TALKING to you--
third response: the appeal to intellect by reason
my scarf, my resolve, my love achieved
after seventeen years of edging apologetically toward this
fringe
far out
Islamic
way of life
will command your respect: assert my right to dignity
over the insolent stare of disbelief, contempt, or pity
will declare with pride our name, out faith, our identity
will LIBERATE my SISTERS
from becoming VICTIMS OF PATRIARCHAL SEXIST TYRANNY!!
...will keep my ears quite warm in winter, actually...
This is a Letter to Your Beautiful Mind
from Rahat Kurd
from the scarfhead you glanced at
uneasily as you went past in the street today
as you pretended to take aim and fire
as you scornfully called out go back to iran or
wherever
how old this is getting
i'd rather write about the sky
response #1: go with your gut, girl
i wear this for fun, actually.
it's a scarf. deal with it.
response #2: politics and the fine art of the reactionary
no, i'm not oppressed -
not a soldier of wrath - no, i'm not
patriarchy's last victim -
no, i do have rights -
i'm not a fundamentali -
hey. Hey! I'm talking to you -
response #3: the appeal to intellect through reason
I want someday
to manage the word God in a poem
without committing travesty
response #4: it's ironic
how what covers my hair
slows traffic
scares boys
stops ultraviolet rays
starts riots
keeps my ears warm in winter.
"You never understood me. You never really tried."- Kate Bush
from the scarfhead you glanced at
uneasily as you went past in the street today
the one you judged and dismissed
in the fraction of a second it took for your eyes
to transmit the image to your brain.
it is being written out of a weary kind of anger
because really i mean
it's only a scarf. Relax
the first response: go with your gut
i wear it
because i want to. deal with it.
the second response: politics and the fine art of the reactionary
no i'm not oppressed
no i don't come from iran
no i'm not a fundamentali-
hey. Hey! I'm TALKING to you--
third response: the appeal to intellect by reason
my scarf, my resolve, my love achieved
after seventeen years of edging apologetically toward this
fringe
far out
Islamic
way of life
will command your respect: assert my right to dignity
over the insolent stare of disbelief, contempt, or pity
will declare with pride our name, out faith, our identity
will LIBERATE my SISTERS
from becoming VICTIMS OF PATRIARCHAL SEXIST TYRANNY!!
...will keep my ears quite warm in winter, actually...
This is a Letter to Your Beautiful Mind
from Rahat Kurd