These Thirty Days

By Hibba Adeel

The sky is bruised with purple and blue

The rooster crows

at the quiet hour of the early morning

Children wake up, yawning

Eyes dropping with exhaustion

Adults prepare the morning meal

and recite the beautiful of the holy book

Until they go back to bed

Prepared for the day ahead

A day full of blessings for Muslims

 

The sun is high in the vibrant sky

Daylight brightening the lazy time of noon

In these thirty holy days

Children come back from school

Exhausted and down

Adults come back from work

Encouraging the children and telling them

only a few hours till the blesses day ends

 

Darkness covers the night sky

Sparkling stars sprinkled across

like a blanket, veiling the early morning

The brightness of Noon

ending the day

 

Finally, the time comes

When the children’s eyes brighten with happiness

and the adult’s eyes glisten with emotion

Scrumptious aromas wafting through the air

The sound of growling stomachs as

they all eat, after hours of waiting

First a sip of water

Then a bite of the sweet, plump brown date

They all bend down in prayer

Devoted and purified

Reciting the holy book

Laughing and smiling

with the day’s magic enhancing the night

Children laughing

Adults talking

until the children go to sleep

and the adult prepare the morning meal

for the next holy day

ending this one

 

Hibba Adeel is a Pakistani American poet.