This poem is taken from http://duawrites.com/poetry/islam/look-at-me/
Not at the scarf on my head
Look at me
Not at the body you can’t see
Look at me
Not at the images on TV
Look at me
Not at the oppression you think you see
Look at me
Not at the domination you say you see
Look at me, at the face that stands before you, at the girl that stands in front of you..
Look at me and listen..
I’m sick of the stares, sick of the glares..
The misconceptions, the thoughts, the ideas
Thoughts and ideas that I can see in your eyes
The way your eyes don’t meet mine
The way you turn and change your mind
Like I’m something undefined, an out of this world find
Thoughts and ideas that I can almost hear
“What century did she come from?”
“Let’s get out of here; we don’t know what’s under that”
“Look at how she’s dressed, she’s must be so oppressed”
You don’t know me, you don’t understand me..
So stop with the judging and hear me
The clothing that I wear, the covering of my hair..
I do it for my Lord, the one Creator..
Not because of man, no human dictator
One goal in this life, and that’s pleasing the Maintainer
So I try to turn the other cheek, to let it go…
But at times… it’s just too much.. too much handle, too much to bear
I often wake up hoping it’s all a dream…
Wishing that things were different
Praying that I wouldn’t have to answer the same questions,
Over and over…do you have hair? Do you have ears?
If it’s education they’re seeking, I would not care
…sigh…
But those times are few.. my faith, it leads me through..
So today I wake up with my head held high
Grab my backpack, and head out the door..
As I cross the street, I wave to my neighbor
After a right at the corner I hear a honk and turn around..
“Go back home” the driver yells…
I sigh and continue walking …. But this is home …
