Mother died
and Afghanistan is falling—
Not that mother followed the world any more
The Alzheimer’s washed her clean of conflicts
She could not remember her name
or her departed husband’s
real and imagined transgressions
Mother died
and the death toll of the pandemic
rose to one person a minute in my land
In Afghanistan foreign forces withdrew
under the cover of night
and the Taliban demanded that young girls
be “married” to their fighters in broad daylight
In Kabul, refugees live on streets
trembling at the no-longer-unimaginable
fall of Kabul
Mother fell
and I wonder
if I can still stand
Rise up, Mother!
Remember who you are
Remember your name
