Bloodlines

Poem by Zainab Hussain

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Bonded by blood,
and distanced by time,
we exist in the same space,
but remain isolated in our distinctive paradigms.
 
It feels as though to you,
I am the nonconformity of my thought,
the rebelliousness of my behavior,
the progressiveness of my beliefs,
and the ink-etched badges of honor,
I wear on my ever-flawed, imperfect body…
 
To you,
I am a wild rose bush,
in need of trimming,
with far too many thorns,
preventing me from deserving love-
at least the gentle kind.