The Lovers | Samina Hadi-Tabassum

Magriette’s star crossed lovers
Lip locked under a sheet of white muslin
Pressed tightly against each other
See the contours of their face
The curls of their hair, the shadows of their eyes
Their white faces hidden from our view
No one knows who they are
So surreal

In an arranged marriage
My parents met for the first time
Under a white muslin cloth
My mother sat on the bare floor
With her six sisters giggling in the back
My father sat across from her
With only his stoic brother beside him

The imam gently placed the white cloth over them
A wall sized mirror between them
For the first time
They peered at each other
No kiss, no embrace, no contoured lines
Just a skewed glance

Two strangers brought together by destiny
Strung together by poverty and despair
Under a white muslin cloth
So surreal

Indian Review | Author Profile | Samina Hadi-Tabassum is a professor at Dominican University.She has published poems in East Lit Magazine and the Journal of Postcolonial Writing.

 Samina Hadi-Tabassum is a professor at Dominican University.She has published poems in East Lit Magazine and the Journal of Postcolonial Writing.