Desert Rose

Born in the desert, afraid to ask for water

Afraid to walk, afraid to fall, what if nobody caught her? 

She thought she could love, but didn't know how; nobody taught her

She wanted to be beautiful, but what's the point of a beauty nobody can see? 

She grew thorns instead, to protect herself from the monsters that came in her sleep

But life twisted away from her, because now, that's all they see

Somehow, strangely, blooming in the desert air,

A flower grew as well, well, maybe you can't have thorns without a flower.

How did this happen? Did something other than the obvious come here?

For a flower to grow, some unseen love must have touched her.

But now that she finally has something to show, nobody sees it

Chased away by the thorns, even if they saw it, they wouldn't believe it.

If a monster in chains had a heart, would you free it?

And what about her? she has fear to conquer as well.

Someone somehow might see her and brave the thorns, compelled

But what if they cut her thorns off, and sound her death knell?

What use is a flower without her thorns? They grew for her

Maybe she lies alone, in her self-established thorn tower

Maybe she sits alone, on her throne that drains her, but sustains her.

But maybe that's better than facing a reality that would shame her.

But of course she's wrong,

If you write a song,

It would be empty if it wasn't sung

A heart is empty unless it is wrung

Thorns are old now, they need to go

Maybe thorns if buried, can be allowed to grow

Maybe the flower dies, but again, maybe not

She thought she'd fall and shatter, but what if she's caught?

There was a desert here once, and she hid herself in dread 

But what if that's gone, and there's now a forest instead?

Bloom mighty, little flower, for every one that hurt

You added another layer to your magnificent petal skirt

Let go, you know how to protect yourself now

Let go, your protection now comes straight from above.

Let go, you're free and nothing can hurt you again.

You've learnt to love without giving your self up as a bargain. 

Desensitise

Weird, side-by-side world we live in

Some people set the stage on fire

Some people set your house on fire

Some get naked for money

Some take your clothes off to shame you

Some sing about freeing sex

Some rape freely

Some starve themselves

Some starve

Some like pretend pain

Some just get tortured

Some kill themselves

Some are murdered

Some people are da bomb

Others get bombed

And you can't speak

Louder than bombs

Just try it, words won't come

Some scream at God

And some scream for Him

And... Why would God be with you

When He could be with them? 

Won't you cry

Won't you cry

For the screaming of the babies?

Won't you cry

For the burning of the bodies?

Won't you cry

For the saving of the souls?

Won't you cry

For swollen feet?

Won't you cry

For uncertainty?

Won't you cry

For the long distances

Huddled together

For the doctors and the lawyers and the nurses

And the attendants and all the others

Who've never shared the same plate

But who now share the same fate?

Won't you cry

For nobility?

For the best of you

That comes out in a crisis?

Won't you cry for those

That kill themselves to save another?

Won't you cry

For despair

And helplessness

And hopelessness?

Won't you cry

For the acceptance of your fate?

Won't you cry

For missed dentist appointments

And tennis classes paid for but never attended?

Won't you cry

For the new clothes they wanted but never bought

For the crockery they bought

But never used

Broken and useless now

Just like their lives

Won't you cry

For the dependence of the independent?

Won't you cry

To save your own soul?

Fleeting

How we float on wings we can’t see

How we fly through air that's heavy

All the people we meet along the way

Are fleeting co-passengers, they never stay

The things you did, they changed me

They touched me, and taught me how to be

And the things you said

Made the pain go away

The happiness we shared

Made the hard times easier to bear

But we’re all floating, always alone,

And all passengers come and then are gone. 

Maybe one day we’ll meet again

Somewhere it's a little lighter 

Where the stars shine a little brighter

But until then, 

Thank you, friend

For the journey we shared

For the times you cared

Maybe one day we’ll meet again.

One day, our paths will cross again

I’ll remember you,

And you’ll remember me,

And we’ll relive the life we shared

And we’ll be better

And stronger 

And happier 

Until then, don’t grieve

Because as I move on to the next journey

I will still always watch for you

I will still always wait for you.

What Are You?

I look at you and I think

And I look at you and I wonder

And I look at you and I wish

And I look at you and I worry

I calculate what will keep you healthy

What will be needed for your future

I try to see what makes you happy

I try to understand all your needs

And I tell people, like I'm some kind of expert, 

"She's like this and that and the other"

But I can never really tell,

Maybe I'll never really know

What it is that you are

There's so much of you

The me in you disappoints sometimes

The you in you always surprises, 

I love you, not because I know you

I try to know you because I love you...

And then sometimes, 

I love that I never fully will. 

Unseen Alchemy

She watched. 

She watched them kill the forest.

She watched them come for the trees,

She watched the animals run away from their homes

She watched the fruits fall.

She said, “Why are you doing this?”

She said, “Lives depend on this forest.

Not just the animals that live here

But the humans that live near here.”

She said, “The wood is used.

The fruits are used

The leaves are used

The water under the ground is used.”

She said, “If Providence provides,

Then this forest is holy.”

She said, “How do you take it away?

Who gave you the right?”

And she was shown the paper that made it possible.

As she looked at the words, blurring, she realised.

‘Beware of the day the paper matters more than the forest’

This was nothing. It didn’t exist. It was words on paper. 

The wind could blow it away,

The rain could wash it away

It didn’t cost anything

It wouldn’t fill a stomach

It was worth less than the tree it was made out of

It was worth less than the ants on that tree,

It was worth as much as the leaves

That fall off that tree and die

She watched one dead leaf

Raze a forest. 

She watched and realised

A strange alchemy had been achieved

They couldn’t turn lead into gold

So they pretended lead was gold

And turned gold into lead

And life into death.

Rukaiya