Edward Dutton
The Afghan Sun
Indira gets hot,
wrapped in her yashmak.
It’s so hot
in the stifling Afghan sun
that she can barely move.
It’s too hot to sweat –
the air hangs, thick –
and thinking
of the Taliban stoning women
just makes her hotter.
At home, Indira slips
right under the water,
baptising herself in the bath.
And when she comes up,
there’s a born-again smile
as she shaves herself
and illegally paints her nails
all the colours of the rainbow.
And as she walks through Kabul,
there’s that same veiled smile.
Like the spy who’s never recognised
or the artist painting
his first few strokes,
she feels a tiny triumph
at the tips of her fingers.
Page(s) 42
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