(A tribute to the 50 Hazaras girl victims of Kabul 2021)
The last thing you remembered was a bright light and nothing more
Before that
You were pure energy in human form
A child
You hugged her tight that day before you left
Her apron smelled like spices from baking the last night
In the morning
she reminded you so many times
to move your shoes and grab your books
You struggled to find matching socks
The rooster woke you
before you could see light
peeking around the seams of the curtains
The night before
your Grandpa stopped by
with a soccer ball for all to share
You said a prayer like you were asked to do
You didn’t have opinions about the world
You didn’t have a statement
Your only mission was to have fun
and play with your friends
and grow
Your belief system was just your immediate family
You were born in a place where women are not respected
not cherished
And even though girls hold the exact
same potential as boys
they were considered lessor
A burden
You were supposed to be my mother
You carried the possibility
that was to be me
The day the bomb went off
was the day both of our lights
were extinguished forever
You were a child
and one day in the future
I was going to call you my mother
Possibility
Now you’re gone
We are gone