Ever since we featured a piece by a young lady from Kenya on our blog, we have been getting more interest from others as well. So I decided to lay another piece for you all written by a friend of mine, Asad Jaleel.
If you are a writer, artist, photographer, singer/performer, or have some type of talent and want to submit a piece on domestic violence. I have had some people contact me asking if they have to be a victim of domestic violence or have to experience it to submit a piece. This is not the case at all! We welcome any people who have a creative way to portray domestic violence from any viewpoint! So if you have something and would like to share, please feel free to submit it and we will feature it on our blog.
Enjoy it and spread peace…
-ai-
About the Author: Asad Jaleel is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has a B.S. in Biology. He has taught with Kaplan, the Chicago Public Schools, and Islamic Foundation School. He is a published poet.
Title: The Fire Unnamed
In fever dreams
I hear her cries for help
Her quick steps across the kitchen floor
Moon and stars witness
As do I from the stairs
Veins in his head throbbing
His angry shouts
The curse-words spilling from the mouth
Words that belie the ancient vows
Flesh on flesh
Two locked in a struggle
But one so much weaker
When I turned eighteen
I left the madness
And told her to escape too
She said it would stop
She said not to worry
She said it wasn’t his fault
Buried rage
Hidden but not forgotten
Simmering like hot soup
I swore to myself
I would never be that kind of man
I feared becoming feared
Missteps I’ve made
My blood has boiled
But I remember the heavens watching
