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mazHur
08-18-2009, 09:12 AM
Two sides of a picture:

This is a reply to the poem, Occupation, by Eliza Griswold



Afghan Widows
by mazHur

Everything is possible in war
but love;
the looming eagles wouldn't spare
the dove.

For a loaf of bread or fifteen cents
will sell
the helpless widows that men turn out
in this hell.

No choice but to die or to live
for their orphan kids
Bare hands, bare feet, bare body,
life on skids.

Amazed not be at the sex they sell
for their survival,
for more or less, where isn't it sold,
can anyone tell?

As long as the bigger fish sport
the oceans blue,
how can the smaller fish feel safe,
to be true.

The dichotomy of the occupiers
and the occupied
makes whores out of women unless
they'd died.

Weigh not the worth of a woman
from her constraints,
men, yes men, spoil the picture
which God paints.

------------ --------- oOo------ --------- --------- --------- -

Occupation

by Eliza Griswold

The prostitutes in Kabul tap their feet
beneath their faded burqas in the heat.

For bread or fifteen cents, they'll take a man to bed
their husbands dead, their seven kids unfed

and thanks to occupation, rents have risen twentyfold,
their chickens, pots and carpets have been sold.

Two years ago, the Talibs favored boys and left the girls alone.
A woman then was worth her weight in stone.

"Occupation" by Eliza Griswold, from Wideawake Field. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008.

blazeofglory
08-18-2009, 12:16 PM
I can visualize the situation in Afghanistan vividly.

Dark Muse
08-18-2009, 12:48 PM
A very powerful peice, indeed quite moving.

mazHur
09-16-2009, 09:06 PM
Thank you,Muse and Glory, for reading the poem and commentin which I sincerely appreciate.

qimissung
09-16-2009, 09:28 PM
It is so sad. I thank you for your compassion, mazHur.

DanielBenoit
09-17-2009, 11:54 AM
Very moving, it completely absorbed me.

dibyendra
09-17-2009, 12:10 PM
Two sides of a picture:



Amazed not be at the sex they sell
for their survival,
for more or less, where isn't it sold,
can anyone tell?





Two sides of a picture:


Weigh not the worth of a woman
from her constraints,
men, yes men, spoil the picture
which God paints.




Your reply to Eliza's poem in poem itself is powerful and the way you portrayed the gloomy picture of Afgan Widows and their poor situation is vivid!

mazHur
10-05-2009, 03:34 PM
Hi All
Thanks you very much...
I sincerely appreciate your comments
regards
Maz

~Sophia~
10-05-2009, 04:37 PM
So sad that this true of every nation where war and outright poverty rule. Very moving mazHur!

Pendragon
10-06-2009, 05:50 AM
Two sides of a picture:

This is a reply to the poem, Occupation, by Eliza Griswold



Afghan Widows
by mazHur

Everything is possible in war
but love;


Those first lines set the pace for an excellent reply to the poem you posted

mazHur
10-23-2009, 04:56 PM
Thanks, sofia and Pen.
best/maz

MorpheusSandman
10-23-2009, 06:50 PM
It's quite powerful; I like it even more than the poem that inspired it. I would only change the Yoda speak of "Amazed not be".