after school
i tell my mummy
i don’t want to go back
tomorrow
she asks me why
i tell her
today in the playground
bullies
push me
punch me
kick me
shout at me
potato head!
raghead!
alladdin!
even osama bin laden!
everything i know
i am not
i fight back
throw a fist
imagine the bullies as monsters
call them ugly things too
my cheeks burn
my heart thumps
i am MAD
i didn’t start this
i am just one
and no one listens
when i yell
stop it!
leave me alone!
no one helps me
when the bullies
rip the cloth
from my head
pull off
my patka
not even the friends
i swing with
everyday on the monkey-bars
or the kids
who swap sandwiches with me
in the cafeteria
not even the adults
who patrol the playgrounds
to make sure
everyone follows the rules
after
bloody noses
bruises
scratches
the teachers sit us down
a peace negotiation
where no one questions
the bullies
why am i a target?
inside
i am like a match
like the ones my daddy warns me not to play with
a blue flame
which grows shorter every second
burning my insides
faster than i expect
i go home
and cry
and cry |
i tell my mummy
everything
my mummy
wraps her arms
around my shoulders
tells me she loves me
with her eyes
she unwraps
my joora
lets loose
my long hair
runs her fingers through
mummy whispers
your hair
is like the night sky
your hair
is the universe
she combs my kes
with a kanga
twists my hair firm
on the top of my head
a galaxy you carry high
mummy says
she takes the square patka cloth
angles it
like a diamond
sets the patka on my scalp
and ties it tight
mummy tells me
this patka
crowns you
one day
you will wear a turban
cloth as long as the seven oceans
the full span of the earth
will rest on your head
be a brave young prince
like Sahibzaada Zorawar Singh Ji
like Sahibzaada Fateh Singh Ji
when bullies
big as kings
threaten them
for carrying the universe on their heads
like true princes
when bullies
torture them
with three nights
in the cold
in the dark
when everyone wanted them to just be children
they raised their chins high
no tears
just the ways of the lion prince
with questions and conversation
a duty for the kingdom
mummy kisses my cheeks
i kiss her back
i tell her
i will go back to school tomorrow
i will be like a prince
a shooting star
bright and brave
where ever it is cold
where ever it is dark
– pk
http://phulkari.blogspot.com/
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