By My cousin did not leave a suicide note. They spoke of it as if it had been an accident. She had accidentally taken half a bottle of pills. Every family has secrets, you see.
And I should have known.
Her husband never struck her, and never smiled at her. She was grateful to him. He re-married quickly.
I should have known.
Her old classmate came to me years later, in a different city, where the air thankfully did not smell of her hair. Did I want to have a cup of coffee? Did I want to know the truth about my cousin? “My cousin had an accident.”
She had so many. Starting at age twelve.
I should have known.
My father does not speak to his younger brother. He will deny it. Or pretend not to hear you. Leave the room in search of his glasses and not come back for an hour. But he does not speak to his younger brother.
We should have known.
I look at my daughter’s toothless smile.
What do I know?
Amar is an Arab-American poet. For privacy reasons, she writes under a pen-name.
Hi Amar,
It shakes your nerves when we read reality of life, in a form of article, Its really very nicely written.
I wish you good luck and encourage you to please write more such wonderful articles.
Thank you
smartboyz
Yes i agree it’s better to get smacked around then to get ignored.
The Turks also have this in there culture.
Turkish woman expect a good slap otherwise they think your not a passasionate or caring person.
You don’t love me or care enough for me to even raise your hand when i do bad things.
I suppose there love making is also pretty interesting.
I doubt that issue was that he didn’t hit her. It appears she was just very grateful to have a husband who was not violent. The fact that he didn’t love her she ignored.
A sad poem, and, it looks like it’s based in reality.
Well, I doubt that this prose has anything to do with being smacked. Rather, it is about sexual abuse, familial abuse. One father is refusing to talk to the other, and speaking about the issue perplexes him. So, as I believe, it is mainly a rape, by a father. Gratitude to the husband is basically shown because he did not devulge the secret of her ‘being raped’, i.e. not a virgin! A shame in Arab culture… A victim of rape that started at the age of twelve.
Well done Amar! I hope that this clarifies what you meant to say through this prose.
Best,
NourA