Closer to Connection
I stood there,
Stood there with my head throbbing
Stood there with
My knees weak
I
Stood
There
Peering into the bakery window
Longing for a taste
The thought of fainting
Charmed me
The smell of food
Taunted me
The sounds of my stomach
Haunted me
Was this truly worth it?
Was my religion worth my hunger?
My faith worth my health?
I hated myself for asking that,
For even thinking it
How could I be so selfish,
Knowing…
Knowing.
That there were people in this world,
This cruel cruel world
Hungrier than I
With less than I.
How could I be so selfish,
When the world around me crumbled with poverty
And yet all I could think about was…
Myself.
And all I saw was forbidden fruit
Picked from the tree of envy
And submerged in my guilt
And all I longed for was
One sip,
One bite.
But other were denied this
One sip,
That
One bite.
So why could I have it?
Why did I feel this entitlement,
To get what I desired
To hinder my pain
And end my suffering
When this was not about suffering,
This was not some cruel act against me,
I was not forced.
This was my choice.
This was my journey,
My path
To sympathy,
To humility,
To gain gratitude for everything that I have
And feel what it’s like to be in the place
The place of those before me
Stand a day in their shoes
Searching for safety.
In their battered boots
Battling for every breath
In their worn out wardrobes
Wearily waiting for water
Their run-down rags
Reaching for regard.
Requesting a shred of respect.
One step away from the bakery
Brought me one step closer to compassion.
Closer to connection.
My favorite device used in this poem is the alliteration. My favorite line is "submerged in my guilt" because I feel like it does a really good job of conveying that feeling of guilt without being cliche. Another thing that stands out to me is the formatting.
ReplyDeleteThe alliteration that you used in the end of your poem brought a nice closing tough to it. I think you conveyed and explained your feeling of guilt and humility very well through this poem, making this poem very personal but also relatable and making the reader question their arrogance
ReplyDeleteI thought your poem was extremely interesting to read. Although I do not take part in Ramadan myself, I can only imagine how hard this time must be. My favorite line was "And all I saw was/ forbidden fruit/Picked from the tree of envy/And submerged in my guilt." I think this perfectly describes the balance between following your faith and personal motivations.
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