School rides
Were my favourite parts of the day
Because it’s when I was closest to you
Sitting on the passenger seat
Heading east
My eyes would catch the gold from sun rays
I look in the rear mirror and I say
“Baba, my eyes look weird in the sun.”
In the back of mind are my schoolmates calling me Jinny
Even though I didn’t take offence and laughed along
It made me realize,
My eyes are brown and everyone else’s are black
So I must be wrong
And you said
“Baby, you’re beautiful.”
Baba, I never believed it but then
Checking your email on my laptop
You type so slowly
That now I know
Your password is my birthday
If I wrote this poem a month back
I’d say one of you is the hacker
Claiming my father is in London in need of urgent cash
But no,
He’s in Darfur
Doing what he does best
Putting light into people’s eyes
So they can see…
They are beautiful
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