Written by Suhaila Bawar
We’re Afghan girls,
Beautiful as roses.
Our field is destroyed.
The ground we grow from is dryer than our unspoken mouths.
We’ve never been exposed to the sun.
Surrounded by eternal shadows of darkness,
We’ve managed to grow.
We’ve learned how to stand tall,
Despite the storm wandering on our land.
Despite the desperate hands plucking out our thrones,
We’ve still kept hope hidden in the buds of our hearts.
Despite this gloom,
We’ve still managed to spread out our petals,
And bloom.