what i am.

it is palestine not israel a
land cannot be stripped of 
its harvest in a day falesteen
is alive on the tongues of
those whose souls weep 
passion they are fighting
for homes where the spirits
of loved ones hover never
say they are murderers it
is you who shed innocent
blood.


and wallahi ogadenia
will one day be free
and my children's bare
feet will touch the soil
that my father's father's
father's walked on and
they will breathe in the
air i never got to breathe
taking in their ancestors
east african glory down
their lungs.

qabil isn't as bad as you
think it is beautiful imagine
being able to count your
history with henna covered
fingertips what a honor an
honor has been mutilated to
become an evil my uncle was
killed because he was darood
RIP i never got to meet you.

one wrong person doesn't 
represent a whole you don't
blame christianity for oklahoma
or the kkk islam is of peace we
do not condone the errors
of a few misguided men
religion is of belief in a
higher being last time i 
checked He isn't Man read my 
book before you assume you know 
the word of the god i pray to 5 times a day 
every single day.

i don a hijab whenever 
i go out who would've ever
thought a tiny piece of cloth
could cause so much controversy
let me the clear the air no
it is not hot under there and yes
i do have hair and no my father
didn't force me to cover i did 
it because i am worth more
than my bra size and whether
or not i have an ass in those jeans
and so i can be loved by the depths
my eyes take you to respected for  
my intelligence and for Allah always
for Allah.


there is poetry
and there is God
both have the power
to move
people.


my mother gave birth to
a crying baby with big brown eyes
in the cradle of your arms you breast 
fed her poetry gushing out of her
soul in midnight black harnessing
the poetry that she maps out like
stars onto his back.