Solitude is Bliss by Hana Nazir

1.

Warm gusts of wind poach the

grainy sidewalks, plaster and concrete

that have foresuffered all

enacted in this sluggish town of

shrouded secrets and syrupy God bless’s:

honey in an overturned jar.

 

2.

to Them, She is Salome:

soft serpentine curls settled

on chiffon skirts and silk shirts

a divine wine of threat and temptation--

femme fatale.

 

to Her, They are pale whipped cream:

lofty, crème fraîche skins that melt

into sour liquid, fermenting

under the heat of prolonged ignorance--

acridity.

 

3.

They watch Her, moribund vultures

with beady eyes and salty tongues,

hungry for the flesh of her vulnerability,

seeking to derive sustenance from her

Sacrifice.

 

Their gazes form lines, sectioning-off

Her Being,

cutting Her up into

 

pieces,

 

making Her feel

 

exposed

 

4.

A drop of congealed blood on cotton,

A blotch on the fabric of homogeneity,

She at last whispers

 

O Lord Thou pluckest me out

 

and floats away into the wind

seeking

 

solitude.