Honour Killing

By Imtiaz Dharker
At last I’m taking off this coat,
      this black coat of a country
      that I swore for years was mine,
      that I wore more out of habit
      than design.
      Born wearing it,
      I believed I had no choice. 
 
I’m taking off this veil, 
      this black veil of a faith 
      that made me faithless 
      to myself,
      that tied my mouth,
      gave my god a devil’s face,
      and muffled my own voice. 
 
I’m taking off these silks,
      these lacy things
      that feed dictator dreams,
      the mangalsutra and the rings
      rattling in a tin cup of needs
      that beggared me.  
 
I’m taking off this skin,
      and then the face, the flesh,
      the womb. 
 
Let’s see
      what I am in here
      when I squeeze past
      the easy cage of bone. 
 
Let’s see
      what I am out here, 
      making, crafting, 
      plotting
      at my new geography.

Copyright Credit: Imtiaz Dharker, "Honour Killing" from I Speak for the Devil. Copyright © 2001 by Imtiaz Dharker. Reprinted by permission of Bloodaxe Books Ltd..
Source: I Speak for the Devil