Isrha'aq (Aunty's Prayer)
       

my aunty is a psychic who taught me to pray
for protection
from black magic and white men

to soak mangoes in ice cold water before peeling
to roll limes between my palms before squeezing
to rub soap into pubic hair before shaving

that ritual began age thirteen
pink hot skin, white cold tub
mangoes bobbing in the kitchen
girl bleeding in the bathroom

aunty shrieking over lime juice
God protect the mother who does not put in her daughter's hand a razor blade

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Copyright © 2017 Seema Yasmin All rights reserved
from For Filthy Women Who Worry About Disappointing God
Diode Editions
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission