I write this ghazal with a few verses of my homeland.
About our women — I have words that must be spoken.
 
Here, a woman carries pain in her home and in her heart.
She lives in a country where she is valued no more than a needle,
 
a small and insignificant object, rarely acknowledged,
constantly underestimated, deprived of respect.
 
They have made her life bitter, filled it with sorrow and grief, and
she moves through her days, enduring and enduring.
 
A woman is born to live, to embrace life,
so, where has her right to live gone?
 
If someone here wishes for even a little happiness,
let me offer an image: it is like carving a path through a mountain.
 
I write, I compose, but there’s always a storm raging in my heart.
Yet I still hold hope that a morning will come, carrying the light we need.

A ghazal is a 7th century form of Arabic lyrical poetry, traditionally addressed to women. 

Marwa Paikan is a 19-year-old Afghanistan-based woman poet. This poem was first published in the August issue of The Candyman’s Trumpet.

Poetry submissions to thursdaypoems@gmail.com.