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POEM: GLUING THE PIECES TOGETHER

The poem below is written in honor of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Surviving is more than just making it to the next morning Surviving requires living It takes work to do the living Because to live requires you to be alive And suddenly Making it to the next morning does not seem so…

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Short Story: Brief Love

(Somewhere near Kraków, Poland – Budapest to Warsaw – Thursday, January 20, 2022.) Ever, in a fleeting moment, caught a glimpse of someone, that you wish for it to last forever? Alas, the moment passes, your destination arrives, and you exit the train from separate doors, moving away from each other… forever. You sit, completely…

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Pinterest, @sarahalfaroq

Poem: Flowers Don’t Grow Here Anymore

Growing up, people always told me you never know a good thing until it’s gone   Like a child, I didn’t listen   I grew up thinking good and bad were as simple as the sun and moon   I didn’t realize good and bad were more like cloudy days   Abandoned playgrounds   Overrun weeds Maybe if I had…

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Pinterest, @4iiza

Poem: In Honor of Bilal

The first call to prayer was said 1400 years ago  The first call to prayer was said by Bilal  Once enslaved, now a free Black man  This is his story  You were born into slavery  To a master who worshiped idols   One day you heard of a man  Who taught that every human was equal…

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Pinterest, @socksstudio

Poem: The Return Of Spring

I once asked my grandmother  Why do bad things happen to good people?   She simply responded God gives the most hardship to the strongest people he knows.  Years ago   My parents fled a war zone   Left the sound of bombs and bullets   Braved the air land and sea   In order to come here   Build their homes from…

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Instagram, @steventekent

Poem: This Time the Boy Does Not Drown

This poem is dedicated to Alan Kurdi and all the other children that have lost their lives at sea. Whenever a child has a nightmare  We speak the dream into water  Water will lure away the mare and only leave night behind  We have spoken all our dreams into water  Be it a faucet or a river  The hope that our…

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POEM: Roots

We have inherited our parents’ roots A mixture of home and homeland We plant these roots within ourselves Where we once standWe grow into a garden of ourselvesEach part a piece of our beingFlowers that were passed down to us through generations Trees that were added in along the wayFruit that our friends boreHere we…

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Instagram Graphics by @idkfatiii

Poem: “Salaam”

Salaam means peace, and that’s how we greet. But the peace we don’t see on the streets of Paris, the place of Tour Eiffel, where the wrong goes by so well. You want protection? And so do we. You take on your armor, and say that it’s we who are trying to take on your…

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Poem: This Is Why Muslims Can Still Care About Christmas

Why Christmas Matters It doesn’t matter if Jesus Was born in April or December. It doesn’t matter, The merchandising that drives the masses. It doesn’t matter that the only thing The historical record can confirm Is that he died on the cross. I don’t think the changing of the cups at Starbucks, Or the proliferation…

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Every day is Mother's Day in Islam. In honor of Mother's Day, we put together a few of our favorite Islamic quotes about mothers as a reminder. Photo credit: quotesgram.com

Poem: Dear Mama

Author’s note: This poem was written in honor of a devastating attack on a maternity ward in Kabul. Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. Dear mama, You chose to push me out from the darkness into the light. As such I can never repay you back for the precious gift of life. I sleep soundly…

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Pandemic Paralysis: The Chopping Block

The “Pandemic Paralysis” series is one in which the author will be exploring the effects of social distancing during the pandemic for those suffering from mental health challenges, and how the pandemic has exacerbated these challenges. Says the author, “I think many women can relate to how much more they are all of a sudden…

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A Poem About Daughters: Ancestors

Someone once told me, My mother carried my daughter first. It’s true! When we were in our mother our eggs form in the embryo as a fetus, My mother made room for my daughter and fed my daughter before I. And her grandmother the same with her and I, One day I will carry my…

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A Poem About Marriage: The New Bride

Dolkis, ghajaras, yellow and pink dust in the air, Laughter of mothers and aunts, cousins and nieces.   A glimpse of happiness, Turns to sudden fears of the unknown.   Decorated eyes looking up in desperation, The green glitter is dim but still shines.   Torn and beaten with age, you can still make out…

Culture

Poem: “I Can’t Breathe”

“I can’t breathe.” Chained and pinned under a man’s weight. “I can’t breathe.” The pressure like a boulder- suffocating hate filled violent murder “I can’t breathe.” His words we hear their truth yet not all hearts are moved “I can’t breathe.” His soul has left us and taken with it humanity’s “I can’t breathe.” “I…