I Am Weaker Than You Think

"A poem is always stronger than a letter." -Sahira Sharif

Effect the change you want to be.
The poets of Afghanistan
Leave me aghast and inspire me.

There's the rude mechanical man,
Pashtun, Matiullah Turab, who
The New York Times proclaims famous,

Who can't read. Then, the women who
The BBC declares shameless,
That is, refusing dishonor,

Choosing to risk death to survive
The endless war that this horror
Brings down every dawn on their lives.

I am not wise. I am not brave.
I am a poem, an arrant knave.