Khadijatu

Can’t Help It

The cat cannot help being independent
The rose cannot help having thorns
The star cannot help being bright.
And I cannot help being me.
Even in my sleep I yearn to write.
Even in my sadness I turn to words.
I swim in rivers of my ideas
I climb through mountains of my drafts
I travel for years and years. And on the other side is me. Beautiful me. My pen flows freely on the page

The Answer

My name is Khadijatu
Today I feel like a swift wind. Blowing
On the horizon.
Sometimes I’m a key.
Sometimes I’m a wall.
But I am always flowing
I ask the world “When will peace begin”
And the answer is swift wind blowing on
The horizon. 

The Reflection

Jack stepped out of bed. His muscles aching with every step, as his ears rang from the alarm clock. He stumbled blindly through the dark bedroom until his fingertips found the switch. As the bedroom light came on Jack squinted and blinked while his eyes adjusted to the light. He grabbed his uniform. Threw it on and bolted out the door. It was already 6:40am and if he was late again to Mrs Colt’s class he would earn detention and his dad would never let him hear the end of it. As he walked out he noticed something strange. It was as if the mirror ignored his presence because his reflection….wasn't there. “I need some coffee.” Jack grumbled to himself as he walked out the front door. As he walked to school he swore he couldn't see his shadow. He brushed it off as he wandered to his seat. School wasn’t much better. It’s like his entire school just decided he didn’t exist. He was even marked absent even though he said “here” at least 4 times. “Sick prank” Jack thought on the way home. He looked in a store window and again saw no reflection. “Must be the sun,” he told himself. As he laid down to sleep he wondered if he was imagining things when he saw a little boy cowering in the corner of the room. And why was he looking at Jack as if he was a ghost in his bed?

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