HIDE AND SEEK
- May 8
- 1 min read
By F.G. Liauw
Within the jungle, she runs.
Tumbling under foliage,
listening for bird song,
knowing that any other animal,
will only mean the end.
Between the cracks, she waits.
Radio pressed to a shuddering chest,
Protected by a sling and a heart,
the only means for a girl,
learning to be a boy,
learning to be a secret.
Inside her home, she seeks.
A memory of a smile,
of a time when her mother worried about who she’d marry.
Before, scissors met long dark hair.
Before, she learned that a sacrifice isn’t sacrifice if it means staying alive.
Amongst the streets, she hides.
A girl pretending to be a boy,
as boys pretend to be soldiers,
and men pretend to be saints.
Behind a desk, she smiles.
Singing their songs,
saluting their flags,
playing games of hide and seek,
as if games were just games and not rules for survival.