Everything Nice

By Ameenah Abdur-Rahman

Tears quietly flow from lost eyes, making black rivers, her smile long since dissolved.

The magic promised to her as they had eagerly pulled her hand, new best friends,

holding tight until she plunged into an open darkness.

The dream she’d had of swirling around in delight

the life of a plush and greedy crowd

full of air-kisses and duplicity.

The glimmering fringe

has faded, music bled out

leaving her stained and kneeling alone.

Only now can she see the monster lurking behind

the exquisite, twin porcelain masks of friendliness and blind approval.

A full room is no contender for the broken and hungry heart.

In a private moment of secret, pleading words

she begins to remember the comfort and light

of a boundless shelter from

the cold outside.

 

Ameenah Abdur-Rahman is a social worker, writer, jewelry artist, and a life-long crafter from Buffalo, NY. She is also a student of Islamic knowledge, a wife and a mother. She currently lives in Ohio.