Photo: Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images
Photo: Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images

BooksMarch 15, 2024

The Friday Poem: 20 daughters of the east by Khadro Mohamed

Photo: Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images
Photo: Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images

A new poem by Pōneke poet Khadro Mohamed.

20 daughters of the east

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the 1st daughter was only 6 when she realised she held the entire universe in the palm of her hand. the milky way snaking around her wrist, stars sat in the centre, a million moons dangled off each finger.

the 2nd daughter is dead before the morning light turns her yellow, she joins the earth a day later, her ghost travels through me

         the 3rd has a name that sounds a bit like an earthquake. there is a rumble when she breathes, so she avoids it altogether.

                                               the 4th trails the edges of the nile looking for the remains of cleopatra

   the 5th has skin like honey, covered in a layer of fire

                             the 6th is threaded in our blood, her lineage ours to share

                               the 7th was born in a field, skin smelling of lavender.

                                                 the 8th is our mother                  the 9th appears in all of our nightmares

                                                                                         the 10th is in an eternal spring

                                              the 11th is just concept, hanging from the trees

                               the 12th is having dinner with her children

                       the 13th is sitting alone at a restaurant

                          the 14th is having her first kiss

                 the 15th is running through a blooming sahara

        the 16th is crying in the Nile river

the 17th is carrying the sun in her pockets

                                                                     the 18th is questioning her ancestors

                                   the 19th is learning Arabic

 the 20th just wants to forget it all

 

Author’s note: “The 15th of March 2024 marks the 5th anniversary of the terrorist attack that took the lives of 51 Muslim worshipers in Christchurch. While I have not lost anyone personally in the attacks, it affected the Muslim community across the motu. On this day, and everyday, let us not forget the harms caused by unchecked Islamophobia and Racism. May Allah grant the survivors and their families steadfastness ameen.” 

The Friday Poem is edited by Chris Tse. Submissions are now being accepted until 28 April 2024. Please send up to three poems in a PDF or Word document to chris@christse.co.nz.

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