Waiting for Eid

Shabana Stanekzai

The woman is waiting for Eid by the window
So that she can break her hundred-year-old fast of silence
With a thunderous scream.

The woman is waiting
For the return of the prophet from ascension;
A prophet who never came back.

The hungry woman is building a fire
Under the darkened pot of life
So that she may cook a drop of love.

The woman nurtures countless fetuses inside her womb
So they may breathe and taste freedom.

The woman still has hope.
Eid may still come one day.

Read this piece in English here.