Expulsion

A black cloud rains selectively on the dispossessed, a wretched lot. My billowing abaya now clings to me, revealing my form. Their glances lacerate. The road stretches to the horizon, but has swallowed my expectations. Palestine, 1948

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Ricky Muse

Date: 11/12/2017 11:13:00 AM

That final verse is what poetry is all about.

Patricia Cresswell

Date: 8/6/2017 7:59:00 PM

You have captured the life of the dispossed well in your poem. Please what is an abaya? Did you write this piece in Palestine?

Patricia Cresswell
Date: 8/7/2017 7:31:00 PM

Thank you for answering my query.

Alan Ireland
Date: 8/7/2017 3:19:00 AM

This poem, which is written from a woman's perspective, is a work of the imagination. An abaya is a typical outer garment, derisively called a "black shroud" in the West. In Iran, it's called the chador. In Afghanistan, it's called the burka. But abaya, chador and burka are not exactly the same.

Alan Ireland

Date: 6/6/2017 10:04:00 PM

This poem was first published at Blue Minaret.