ZAYNAB

gaza raza tabula rasa

the girl with a red hijab and handcuffs

smiles

maryam

that is her name

relate in the book the story of Maryam

god who made her pure had chosen

Maryam

but the chosen people said

O Maryam you have done an awful thing

she smiles and sits and puts your heart at ease

ZAYNAB bloodied battered on her knees

in KARBALA

she smiled

dont you know

NOTES

the girl…hijab “Meisje met de parel” (Girl with a Pearl Earring) by Johannes Vermeer, 1665. maryam al-Afifi, arrested in Sheikh Jarrah by Israeli police on Saturday 8 May 2021. relate…Maryam The Virgin Mary from the Qur’an 19:16. god who made…chosen The Qur’an 3:42. O Maryam…thing The Qur’an 19:27. she smiles…heart at ease The Qur’an 19:26. ZAYNAB bint Ali, the heroine of the Battle of KARBALA (10 October 680 CE).

Back to Poetry.