Two of my daughters are 11 months apart. This is the time of year where they will soon be the same age and my gratitude is focused primarily on the fact that somehow God let me live to see them grow up and somehow made a way for us to survive. So, the pantoum I made myself write to stay grounded is about them.
Named one for a queen whose throne would move
Simply because the oneness of the universe said so
the half jinn half mortal hairful wonder
Deliverer of my deliverance and so much more
Simply because the oneness of the universe said so
Another soul knit itself into my belly
Deliverance is a sister of mountains
And parenting is a tread between at least two
Named the next for the bondswoman exalted
My very own Safa and Marwa of motherhood
And parenting was a tread for water, life, survival
A hajj and a throne that both move in an instant
My very own mountain after mountain of running
Blessed to cry now because there is water
A river and a well that flow in an instant
And wash my whole soul in sands of relief
Blessed to love because they are alive
No bombs no trees no killing by ancient rites of destiny
My daughters are awash in the whole idea of being free
Parenting is a desert prayer for a future I may never see
A washing of my whole soul that the future might be free
A future half jinn half mortal so hairful so beautiful so regal
Parenting is a desert prayer for a future one may never see
But you move in faith and name the children for queens