On the intersection
Of hair and justice.

Illustrious and luscious,
Symbol of feminine power,
And lure.
Represents
A beauty,
Feared,
Revered;
Dominated,
Consecrated.

22 years of insurgency.

First act of error:
Being born a girl.
Second fatal terror:
Flashing her mane.

Certainly not lame,
Less tame-
Made to bolt.
Just as a horse,
Sometimes presents a,
Need for force.
If outspoken,
Destined to be broken.

It’s sore, what’s come to the fore,
The lore of one’s head being naked
Amounting to immoral haram,

Gorey,
Roaring,
Unacceptableness.
Our Afghan sisters,
Scream out too from their respective abyss.

It’s adrift to a stoning,
Entropy of bones, to be sacrificed,
Premature removal of a
‘Wild’ woman’s form.

Coup de grâce,
Removed you from Earth,
We’ve learned your name so fast.
Your parting gift,
A rift in the totalitarian control,
Young
Bald
Demons
Rove the streets.
Fire under their feet,
Burning scarves,
Revealing scalps,
Shaving off their very incendiary part.

Mahsa Amini -You wouldn’t cover up.
What was so threatening in your keratin strands?
Proteinous, heinous, exposure.
How can they justify blood on their hands?

This backward regime,
In the Greater scheme,
Will serve no dignity to heirs,
It’s as if Rapunzel herself has ascended,
Azadi Tower,
Long locks flowing and blowing in the winds,
Of C h a n g e.

No.4 29/9/22