Warrior Women
Dimmed lights. Black shrouds on otherwise welcoming
furniture. Incense heavy in the air. Home decked for funerals of family long
lost. Sorrow spilled fresh every year.
The ninth night, and the women in black huddle methodically
on the carpet. Heirloom diaries are cracked open, fingers caress verses written
by their mothers and their mothers' mothers. Mourning rises from within deep
bellies and combusts on meeting air. Family poems, more sung than recited, give
voice once more to the ancient matriarchs whose hearths first hosted black
battlements.
The verses crescendo, anguish reverberating with beating
chests. Banners bearing eternal sigils of peace will remain defiantly unfurled
until the passing of the tenth day of war. But the war returns next year, every
year.
The women will welcome it home.
Bio: After trying to save the world as a consultant at PwC,
Hasan Jamal finally jumped out of the cold corporate world of capitalism and
became an educator. Dabbling in fiction, creative nonfiction and amateur
illustration, Hasan is always on the lookout for bits of Big Magic. Hasan works
with Dheere Bolo, an activist cultural impact publishing house, creating
content to promote reading and stories from Pakistan
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