Sawaal (The Question)

Did I not say
I cannot stay?

I told you, didn't I,
I have forgotten how to belong?

Did I not say
I come from lands of nowhere
and move on,
without warning?

Did I not say
I am sold to wicked spirits
who whisk me away
to hiding-places, wet and warm?

I told you, didn't I
that I must lust,
for the foreign eye,
though clinging even
to your predictability?

I warned you, didn't I,
of the times when I rebel
and escape to my secrets?

Did I not say
I cannot stay?


This is the second round of sawaal-jawaab, taking off from where Peter left off.

(c) Annie Zaidi, Dec 2004