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Saadia Syed Poem
Hijab
Hijab, niqab, jilbab, or chador of ridah.
Draping eloquently the notion of obscurity with expressions so holy.
Living an invisible existence on screen of life.
Suffering in silence; and protecting honor of riwayaat daily.
Should I surrender the will of life, being, self, or khudi?
Don’t show, just hide: don’t feel, but survive.
Don’t love just subsist in this infertile valley.
Don’t cry,
You are a daughter of a contemporary,
Traditional, man of Islam.
For you life hereafter is the prize.
To find yourself when everything is hidden in the ideals of hijab
Is a miracle of love
It’s life greatest surprise.
Saadia Syed
Copyright © Saadia Syed | Year Posted 2016
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Saadia Syed Poem
"What Makes Me a Woman?"
Sitting in my bed,
One idle afternoon.
Looking in the mirror.
I asked myself,
For a millionth time,
What makes me a woman?
Is it the role of a daughter?
Mother, wife and a sister?
A heart that is selfless,
Kindness unconditional,
Generous and giving soul.
Beauty that embarrasses the moon,
Warmth that melts snow,
Or passion brighter than the fire.
Or to have no
Desire of my own
And
No hopes that are mine.
Is it the unlived moments,
Unseen dreams
Giving up my life,
My goals for the greater good,
And
Living the life
Chosen for me by the loved ones or
Beloved.
Is it the same epic, eternal question Eve asked when she looked at Adam?
I thought.
My heart,
As stubborn and childish as it could be,
Smiled and whispered to me, “all that makes you human."
Knowing that
You belong to yourself first,
That's what makes you a woman.
Saadia Syed
Copyright © Saadia Syed | Year Posted 2016
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Saadia Syed Poem
Raqs Zangeer Pehen Kar Bhi Kiya Jata Hay.
“I love you. I can’t live without you. I am sorry.”
She is bleeding from her nose.
She frowns at him and run outside.
He follows her, “Please stop, don’t worry. Don’t leave me.
It is a mistake. You hurt my pride.
You question me and my love for you.
By not listening to what I asked for and not following through.”
He bawls, “I don’t mean to hurt you. I am trying to control.
I am your husband and it is my role,
To keep you in-line and in-check.
To stop you from becoming the crazy chick.”
She opens the door.
Looks at herself in the mirror, hanging in the corridor.
Her nose is bleeding. Her face is red.
“How can I go in the public, after my nose bleed?”
Her hesitant feet, shaky hands and embarrassed face.
He sees that and knows that he has win this race.
“No one will trust you.” He says to her.
“No one will understand that why you kept on living with me.
I am a respectable and honorable man.
If you think you can destroy me by leaving, outside is your van.”
He orders, “You can take your filthy, incompetent self out of my home.
My kids are staying with me. You can’t take them out of their room.”
She freezes, closing the door behind her.
Her head down, face wet and her eyes blurry.
And when she speaks it is as if everything is rosy.
She says, “I love you and, I know that you’re sorry.”
That was yesterday.
Sitting next to him in the car with kids in the back.
Everyone looks happy, everyone is gay.
She glances at his olive face and whispers to her heart.
“I am so glad that my family is intact.
Not to break them apart is so smart.”
He kiss her on her branded cheek.
When he gets out of the car.
Opening the car door for her he proclaims.
“You are my princess, my heartbeat. You are my better half.”
And
What happened yesterday? Just flushes out of her memory and heart.
And it ends up in the gutter.
Saadia Syed
Copyright © Saadia Syed | Year Posted 2018
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Saadia Syed Poem
Ishq(love)
I heard his cry, the first breath that he took in,
his soft hair covered with me. I looked into his eyes and
I knew that he holds my heart in his tiny hand forever.
My heart was filled with joy unbeknownst to me.
The touch of his tiny hand made by heart soar and fly.
I knew that he and I are forever.
My second love, my second child was a miracle from god a miracle of faith, that I had in my traditions
He is the reason of my reconciliation with life I was running away from.
I made a pact to me that day when I saw your golden brown eyes melting my heart and being.
I promised to burn in any and every hell to provide for you and then
I smiled, and said to my heart,
I am done with divorce, I want to reconcile.
My third love made me see the strength in my being.
A courage that never existed before. She was the war I won.
She was the battle I conquer.
She is the reason I live. She is the reason I left the life I never wanted.
How could I show my daughter the strength of love when I was living a loveless life.
I broke every tradition. I left the people that were my identity.
I needed love to be the motive to live
The day I thought that love doesn’t exist, You saw me.
My better half, my love, my ishq, my soul mate.
Your touch made me come to life.
I was dead before you. You gave me strength to live.
You taught words of wisdom
You made my life complete, You are the noor of my eye.
You are the temple of my faith Y
ou lighten my life, my heart, my eyes and my being. We are forever. In my life, in my heart, in my soul all of you are forever,
you are my Ishq.
Copyright © Saadia Syed | Year Posted 2020
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