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Burqa

Wayne Allen Jones

Within this cloth,
I find myself.
Here I relax in safety.
Here I do not deny myself,

but I deny myself
to others who say
they need this veil –
a dungeon wall to control me,
to keep me from tempting them.

They know they cannot fight or work
with blindfolds and manacles.

They mistake their lack of will
and strength of desire
for my allure –
a beauty they must ravish,
that makes them beasts.
They paint me with their eyes,
making gaudy the gift that God gives,
that I did not seek and cannot refuse.

And they are dangerous.
They make rules to keep me modest,
and when their weakness is exposed,
they reek a vengeance as terrible
as their wills are shriveled like raisins.

Where is the woman judging them,
condemning them to offer up a hand
to the sword of a female avenger?
What woman pulls a trigger
or holds a match to their pyre?

Here I am content
in my own tent on a desert dune,
making this space my palace.
I breathe at my own command,
my heart sets the beat,
my mind sings melodies
that make God weep
as He watches
the dervish dance of my pure soul,
and no one, not even another woman, knows
how freely I use myself
to make this beauty,
in His praise, the sign of my peace.


First published in exact change only: 2011 summer – Chicago: Exact Change Press.

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