Dancing on Embers
her kohl-fringed eyes – oblong
ponds of imperfection
brazenness anathema
acumen prancing like a horse in those pupils
rebellion painting crescents under the eyes
does she terrify you when you ogle her for she’s not wearing a dupatta?
when she flips her hair sans a bit of care?
when she shops in bazaars without your fear?
you’re a sadist – rakish wolf ready to slay your “dear”
she’s a menagerie – wildness breathes in her
(thoughts) encaged imagining in her skull
(passion) imprisoned throbbing in her ribcage
her bangles jingle on every Eid – the sign you
look for
to wolf-whistle at her
to wolf her down with your “manliness” (brutality)
snicker-snack in your eyes she discerns
you can stone these “rebels” on Aurat March for protesting to get their rights
but you can’t stone their flak-like words
that ricochet you as you unmask the beast inside you
that reanimate the suffering wives (stooges)
that question your mentality that is limited to what she wears when she goes out to buy grocery
oh, to be a woman on this land
is to be killed (by your kin) in the name of “honour”
for any reason that the males of a family find obscene
is to (not cover but) hide yourself (not fearing Allah, but fearing men)
under a veil and an abaaya
and yet
be groped by a grey-bearded man
because you raise ‘curiosity’
is to be thrown acid at
if you reject a man for marriage
is to get bumped off
if the meal you serve to your husband isn’t hot enough
is to be called a hussy
if you march with the oppressed women on the roads who implore
to be treated as humans
is simply
to be dancing on embers
By Hafsa Mumtaz
Biography:
Hafsa Mumtaz is a Pakistan-based emerging poet. She is a recent graduate of English Language and Literature. She only has one publication yet: ‘Like a Sip of Wine’ at an online journal Visual Verse Anthology, Volume 08, Chapter 09, published on July 26th, 2021.