28:7 – And We inspired the mother of Moses, “Suckle him; but when you fear for him, cast him
into the river and do not fear and do not grieve.”

For the women who do not receive scripture,
Who instead, dread the day that they can no longer hide
Enigmas behind loose dresses.
When you are asked to choose to birth, or close your legs,
Dishonor on both sides of the crossing,
So when desperation drags you by the hair, down the path of begging
For a few thousand rupees,
Not from the father, no,
He could never afford the cost of responsibility, let alone the price to rid of it.
But from a sympathetic stranger, to pay the pharmacist on the black market, for a chance to
enter life-or-death roulette.
Prescription reads: take the two tablets and bleed and bleed and bleed
Out your shame, without a paper trail,
And try not to die of it.
Or,
Live through nine months of anguish, deliver in an empty toilet.
Bear the burden of lactating breasts, risk your own body testifying against you in the event
of arrest.
Do not fear and do not grieve.
Dream of a child being carried by God across the lapping tide in the Basket of Life.

By Nida Admani