They want a structured poem,
I sit with a pen and paper,
Wondering what I should write,
Maybe stories of love and respite,
They want a structured poem,
I want to write about you,
To show every scratch and mark,
On my once smooth brown skin,
They want a structured poem,
A structured narration,
Of how you left me alone,
Despite promising that you won’t ever,
They want a structured poem,
So that the perfect words,
Can mock me, leer at me, kill me,
Don’t worry, the structure will be there,
They can have a structured poem,
And write it as my epitaph,
Every syllable glinting in the sun,
A perfectly woven tapestry of my misery.
Rumana Mehdi
Rumana Mehdi is a Pakistani poet living in the USA. She is the author of the poetry collections 'My Peace Poems', and 'Lilies, Gunpowder and Dreams'.