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| Creative Commons. Photo by Stano Szenczi |
Suicide
Words smolder within my chest, suffocate my hand,
my mouth, but not my heart - so I burn.
by Margaret Bednar 9.20.12
Civil War
We think, we love, we are - they beat us,
repress us, tell us we're nothing - so we write.
by Margaret Bednar 9.20.12
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| photo courtesy of Creative Commons "distributing pencils" |
Both of these short poems are called landai. It is the only way Afghan woman can express themselves and they MUST do it in secret. If they get caught, they run the risk of being beaten and even death.
My poems were written after reading the articles below. This is in response to Imaginary Garden of Real Toad's "Kenia's Wednesday Challenge: landau.
Below I have linked a few articles:
13 comments:
Lovely poems, so sad they must live like that, if you can call that a way of living, perhaps more of existing...
Nothing defines passion like fire.
Rick
It's awful to think of a young person ending her life because she has been denied the right to speak. Wars, oppression, civil unrest of any kind must always be the subject of poetry.
Strong and powerful, Margaret. I am fascinated by landai. So expressive of womens' spirits, which cannot be fully silenced.
This poetic form is lovely, but the story behind it is really sad !!!
I love your suicide and civil war poems ~ These women are very brave indeed ~
You did a great job with the prompt~
Saying how it truly is~
Well Done~
breathing words.....
You have spoken well of the strength of the Afghanistan women...do what you may but my spirit will remain free.
Oh, Margaret, the stark truth of your words...they hit me, awaken me to a world of which I know so little. The grandmother in me, the Mother Bear in me, are awakened to a feeling of helplessness, but not hopelessness. As long as the women of Afghanistan are writing secret poetry, they are working their way toward freedom, although not in the time frame I desire.
K
..'so I burn' ~ 'so we write' ~ essence of the landai poetry.
Two very powerful poems, very well written!
So sobering....
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