By: Sundus Alsharif
There are moments in time that I will
never forget.
Like the smell of fresh grass, laughter of friends,
Or the sky before it’s about to rain
Like the rain I always blocked with an umbrella, I saw the world through
rose tinted glasses—
of flowers that grew through cracks
smiles that shined on
even the most shattered of mirrors.
A breath of innocence that children have.
The kind of wonder I used to have.
I want to know what happened when I lost my passion.
I think it was when
I forgot how to feel my fingers making prints in the warm sand.
My heart lost its beat,
I was sleeping and awake.
What a horrible place my mind must have been—
a mind trapped, afraid to think.
My words paint thoughts I never think:
A canvas of beautiful words that don’t live in me.
They flow off of my lips,
putting me asleep, and never waking me up.
I think next time, when I brush my fingers across the warm sand, I have to feel a little closer.
Speak a little louder.
Dream longer.
Act even stronger.
Because I remember a man who had still had a dream despite every person who told him he was wrong
I know of a woman who said “ I will not” when asked to give up her seat to a white man.
I remember a man who spoke words of peace to those who mocked him.
I remember a sea being split in two. The blind opening their eyes. A baby being able to speak.
I know of a book that has the same letters, words, and pages now as it did 1400 years ago.
A beautiful canvas of words that don’t just live in me, they encompass my entire being.
Now, when I brush my fingers across warm sand, each granule runs through my heart
I used to look for justice in rose tinted glasses.
Now I find justice from inside of me
Every soul born in goodness, I know that this justice comes from You, oh God.
It’s inside of me, and us all.
There are moments in time that I will
never forget.
Like the smell of fresh grass, laughter of friends,
Or the sky before it’s about to rain—
I finally trashed my umbrella, and started to
dance in the rain.