The Tale of Silence – a poem by Rabia Rana

The Tale of Silence

Before sunrise,
two thousand one hundred sixty days five hours ten seconds
before the despair,
starvation, and
r
a
p
e
,
before dreaming the wedding,
¬¬the friends and their dress,
feeling butterflies,
plaiting with her henna tattooed hands,
putting her long pure-white head dress on
headband trimmed with gold coins.
She raised her hands.
Touched the peacock figurine
on bended knees.
She turned her face towards the sun.
“Oh, Lord, You have the voice,
You have the heart.”
Before the darkest day.
After the apple.
After the fall.

Rabia Rana is a designer,  visual artist, and women’s rights activist. Her work has appeared in Glint Literary Magazine and Augusta Art Council. She holds MFA in Creative Writing in fiction from Queens University of Charlotte.