The Whirlpool Galaxy

Week One - Maryam

Terror Among Us

they come knocking on our doors
to plant fear in our hearts,
burn down buildings in order to
tear a nation apart.
and they use a religion
united by one name,
yet we fail to realize that
this is all for political gain.

the women next door
who wraps herself in a pink scarf,
is suddenly accused
of practicing demonic arts,
and the man at the market
who wears a turban on his head,
is now suspicious of hiding
a rifle under his bed.
yet how come when the klu klux klan
murdered in the name of God,
we never questioned twice
whether religion was at fault?
instead we mindlessly turn on
the television set,
and watch Fox News describe us
as islamic terrorists.
and when clubs are gunned down in florida,
and bombs
are dropped in belgium,
we root for a sweaty-faced man
who says, we must get rid of all of them.

they will attack us
again and again,
until they've finally reached
what they desired in the end,
for a nation to become
so blinded by hatred,
that they'll never again want to see
our distraught faces.
and they will take that as an opportunity
to seize us from our homes,
and the nation that we always knew
will now be our foes.

so why must we always sit and listen
to what Fox has to say,
when instead we can ask a Muslim
why she prays five times a day,
and why a woman always has to wear
such a covering on her head,
or why they always recite prayers
even before going to bed.
is it really because they are devoted
to a horrific terrorist group?
or perhaps they devote themselves to God,
just like me and you. 

- redvelvet8975, Maryam