The Rebel’s Secret

Shall I tell you a secret, my friend?

Shall I tell you why the sun burns so bright

And the stars and the moon are

Revolutionaries, waiting

In ambush?

Shall I tell you a secret so supremely

Radical

So deliciously scandalous?

 

Come close, and listen hard

Listen well and listen strong

When I whisper, when I promise you

The secret of the light of the galaxies

Is to be brimming over

With a burning joy

That blinds everyone to ever look

Into your face;

 

It is to adore with a kind of

Madness

With a kind of manic, infinite love

Every stumble in your steps

Every freckle and blemish

Every shapely and unshapely hollow

Of your body from

The split ends of your frizzy hair

To the tip of your stubby toes

 

To absolutely worship

Every lumpy bit of fat disguised as muscle

Every awkward stammer

Every confused giggle

And fumble in the dark

 

To lavish with a kind of fascinated

Reverence

Every moment you wish to fight back

But are too scared

Every moment you wanted to get up

And cannot find the energy

Every time you fail yourself

And those you love

And every time you succeed and leave

So many behind

 

Because you, my friend,

Are a rebel, unchained, running against

Time, against hope, against herds and torrents

And oceans flowing downhill

Against the very laws of physics

You are unfettered,

And in the fierceness of your joy

And your love

And your freedom, you will

Light up

The whole world.

May 29, 2016May 29, 2016 by Haneen Khalid Categories: Poems 9 Comments