Red for the blood dripping from a vein
White for the sheets that cover the dead
Blue for the visible beyond that is the sky

For every drop of red silk that
Glitters in the sun
One is a step closer to freedom
From the blood that ties us
To its fiery core

For every pure cotton cloth that
Shadows over the deceased
One has risen halfway,
Breaking their ties
With the underground deep below

For every new light
Borne from the dreamy blue sky
One has earned their freedom
From their mundane, mortal body

No longer held down by hunger
No longer held by thirst
No longer needing shelter
No longer needing clothing

Freedom from Earth
Comes in shades of
Red, white, and blue

I am a hijab,
A piece of soft cloth,
firmly and gracefully pinned around her head,
Covering her hair,ears and neck,
not her face.
I am a fabric in different colours,
most commonly  in black or white.
I am her safe guard,
Against the harsh sun and wind,
Unwanted men's glares,
Their sneers and harsh words,
Her beauty, pride and soul within.
For her,I command respect,
Make unknown men keep their distance.
I give her a symbol of purity and piety,
Together with serenity in her eyes.
Because of me she is not oppressed,
She is as free as a bird,
To soar over mountains,cross oceans,play sports of her choice and achieve the best education.
She enjoys life but by having me around her she pleases Allah too.

I wanted to walk
along the earth
on this great shore.

But before long
it dips in the sea
into the ocean.

It's not a problem
I see is a ******
still has the cloths on!

Denim and cotton,
Rolling tides of fabric swaths
They tumble softly

there is this pithless entity

circling round my gut

waxing and waning

folding in infinite measures

like stiff cloth finding creases

that fit



and I caress this part

inside which has no fold

or definite pattern



but there is this power

and it increases as the light

of lesser days burn into night



brightly devouring

all lesser fabrications

willing them to speak

in hushed whispers

bathed by blackness



completely surrounded am I

a vagrant soul departed

yearning for this star of gasses

to not combust but

slowly awaken



and you spark that within me

heavy and unaware

a messy cloth of vibrance

washed and wrung and folded gently

with shaking hands and thumping breath



the atmosphere surrounding

all that is real



enveloping my body as it speaks

of glorious wonders

operating deep

within the cosmos



where air is sealed tight

like a vacuum and



I can't help but breathe in

even though

I know

I'll suffocate

And let me down easy but do break my heart
Otherwise I'll never know if I should chase after y'all. And the longing comes nightly, the bourbon rings twice, every time I'm out living, y'all stop me from dying. But a man is worth pennies when his work is the dirt, and I've never known forgiveness I've only ever known hurt.

With my skin on the desert, my hands cut from the piste. If a man's responsible for fire, then it must be woman who's made the stream. Everything is an eyesore when plague cuts at your flock, and the shepherd is aching to be rid of his cloth, the end of evil corrupts it, the sheriff he breaks his own laws. They take all that they want, leave you to look up to the dust, you can't sustain the pains of heartache, you words shorter while you talk. So please take it away, the flat and the plains. And only fires concern them, water drowns for them and cries. I don't need no one to listen, no one to soften my eyes. I've been bit by the river, it's taken my breaths. Filled my chest full of water, brought my time to new depths. I saw the valley, and I saw the moors. I saw the valley, just tell me, will she be here tomorrow? I've seen the valley, and I've seen the moors, just please won't you tell me, will she be here tomorrow?