Mou’ji, sing me a lullaby tonight
Too many faces made of
white smoke
Smother me when I
close my eyes
My dreams are on a
leash, and
Olive green monsters
stalk my breaths
Mou’ji, sing me a lullaby
Mou’ji, burn my clothes while I sleep
Too many friends have
bled on the Shirt,
You brought for me
when Eid last came
For when the demons
come for me,
Let them never handle
threads sanctified by blood
Mou’ji, burn my clothes while I sleep
Mou’ji, take away and bury my school books
My classroom is now a
sandbag bunker
My fingers will trace
words in the dark now
Every page full of the
names of the dead
One by one, till I am
one of them
Mou’ji, take away and bury my school books
Mou’ji, don’t cry when they bring me home
For even if there is
no heaven, I refuse to be choked
My hands are scarred
from the edges of stones
But iron chains are
heavier still
Even when gilded with
fool’s gold
Mou’ji, don’t cry when they bring me home
* Mou'ji - Kashmiri for mother
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