Limbo

My body is at rest, eyes open wide.
Mama’s hand drifts over my lids.
She is the last thing I see

My ears operate the same nonetheless
Dua’s are being spoken
Condolences are being sent her way

She has called for Yossra
But no relief will be had
Her youngest daughter has left this land

My feet signal upwards, my desire exposed.
My heart is still, palms open wide.
This is it, the end of life.

An angel is by the door,
of what was once my mouth and nose.
With one last tug, he frees my soul.
I am free.

The clouds are gone, far, far below us.
I am among the stars, where I belong.
I pray to never leave.

Others soar by me, heading to a destination.
As I move gradually, Malik lugging me along.
He knows what is going on.

In the afterlife,
there are two choices
And I know to which I belong.

And so I pray and pray to stay in limbo,
To always have just left and never arrive.
The in-between is my only rest.

_______

SHAMS HAMID is a junior attending Virginia Commonwealth University. Currently she is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sociology.  She enjoys knitting, dismantling the white patriarchal structure maintained by our institutions, and cooking.