Adila was being watched

Her eyes were tired of seeing 

Her body was tired of being seen

Paranoia painted her home in Pennsylvania 

Everything was gray and the air was frigid  

She never wanted the American Dream

But she accepted the punishment of her own existence 

 

Ebrahim lost his baby brother to drones

His eyes were wrapped in layers of bandages

His bones were broken to pieces 

Anguish painted the landscape of Afghanistan

Everything was red and the air was muggy 

He never knew what he did to America 

But he accepted the punishment of his own existence 

 

The terror of “anti-terror” is a steep price to pay

We will relinquish our privacy to your apparatus 

We will give you our eyes and our bodies 

We will let our virulent blood write your policies 

We will live with our supposed propensities 

And if we endure, you may stifle us quietly.