Tall Poppies

in a land of tall poppies
       the rains flood our riverbanks with shame

a girl who could not embody her name
thinking it crazy her parents should call her
                                                                      Bella
she tells no one what she sees in the mirror

a young fella racing around the house
like a madman
         reprimanded for his enthusiasm
gorwing up
resenting his children

of families who sweep all the hard talks
         under the carpet
then wonder why they can't walk
                                                    straight

we have a global epidemic of shame

you know when you hate yourself but
can't say a thing?
                             thats shame
or when you're suffering, thinking your friends
only want your happy face
                             thats shame
or when some unimaginable trauma
has hit you in the face
and you continue to blame yourself
                             thats shame

let me tell you something friends,
at 4am on the night of a woman's 60th
she tripped down the stairs,            knocked herself on the head
broke her arm in two places
                                  and went back to bed                bleeding
                                   in shame
thinking her family would frame her a drunk
or out    of    control       character

what black hearts have we if our mothers cannot
share hurts                  for fear of their offsprings
judgement

i met a thirteen year old girl so ashamed of her gender
in a world of men
that she                preferred to stay in bed
rather than dress on up for them

an old man who'd lived his whole life
                            pretending he loved women
collecting wrinkles
like linen
shameful his heart lay
                            among men instead

my own sister-in-law lets others believe
she is from Paraguay, Belize or Brazil,
                   not Lebanon
for which she receives ridicule
for which she receives suspicion
                   when she should be met with veneration for
                   her humanitarian aide in the orphanages

in a land of tall poppies
                   we are quick to let them die
teach them to reach up to the sky
before showing it as an illusion / a lie

there was a man on the street kneeling under glares
and raindrops
                   a sign held as he looked for the light in our eyes
don't judge me said the sign

what has humankind become?
         when we condemn our brothers to their coming undone
         when we bully our sisters and hurt them for our own amusement
         when we hush the children, angry at their freedom of expression
         when we let our neighbours hate the very bodies that they walk in
the force of shame escapes no one
for long enough

but we will remain steadfast in our masks of confidence
until we're not pretending         anymore

i want to even the score / here / tonight
let it be known
that
you are perfect

as you are