Letter to the future

When you read history books, they may not show
the many ways that people lived today:
it’s critical you know the things we know.
 
To tame a girl, her aunties pin her so
she’s still, and then reduce her with a blade.
When you read history books, it may not show.
 
To keep them safe, we welcome those who hoe
a different furrow – to farms far away.
It’s critical you know the things we know.
 
The ragged pick among the scraps we throw
aside: the iron will never cleave to clay.
When you read history books, it may not show
 
up clearly, but when someone from below
makes claims beyond her due – we make her pay.
It’s critical you know the things we know
 
so you avoid reaping the weeds you sow
among the corn. Although it’s clear today,
when you read history books, it may not show:
it’s critical you know the things we know.
 

Published in Poetry Salzburg Review no 34