Once again,

Women are caught in a web of devastation!

Our existence, questioned once again,

Our identities, lost once again,

Our rights, taken away from us once again,

Feel disrespected, dishonored

And judged once again,

A nightmare hoping to wake up from,

But it is a sad reality that

We have to endure once again,

It seems that we are picking up

Where we left off 20 years ago,

The heart wrenching and heart breaking images,

Carved in our brains and scarred our hearts forever,

The brutality, the cruelty, the disrespect

And the indifference toward human lives,

Unimaginable to think that

We may have to live it and witness it once again,

It feels like we are caught in a trap once again

And we can’t walk out,

The one question we ask ourselves is,

But Why????????

Our only crime is being women!!!

And that is justified by the people

Who rule Afghanistan Once Again!

You can’t talk reasons with closed minded people,

You can’t teach common sense,

You can’t argue with ignorance,

Ignorance kills logic, humanity, morality,

And all the good that comes along its path,

And that is what we have to deal with

Once Again!

Pulwasha Mahmoodi

Waterford

Poetry in a Pandemic offers local readers a chance to share their poetry written during or related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. To contribute, email times@theday.com.