As a girl
With a strange curiosity
I watched my mother,
How she endured the drain of her beauty
Her youth was so brief
Her life seemed meaningless
Beneath all her hushed whispers
Was the voice of a woman who preferred to be free
As a girl
With a restless voice
I could not scream
I could not cry aloud,
To grieve for the songbirds who suffered a sudden death
As a girl
Humming in the garden
I watched the caterpillars,
Transform into butterflies in the arms of ripe roses
As a girl
I saw stars illuminate the night
The rain, behind the window
The wind in the arms of a living evening
Carrying me away to unknown shores
As a girl
Every time I parted my lips to complaints
I would be in trouble
But still,
With love on my shoulders
Holding my head high
I stared far above the free stars
Shahla Latifi
October 1st, 2019