Bilqis

One day, while strolling through the amber city,

I came upon a man with wisdom in his eyes,

Eating a spicy sandwich and drinking coffee,

Looking at the TV with a side of fries.

...

We struck a conversation,

With tea and biscuit in my hand,

About the impending warring nation,

Of the forthcoming doom to our land.

In the midst of it, I revealed my fear,

Of an unrequited love that consumed me,

That I have kept secret through force shear,

But may lose forever, like raindrops in the sea.

...

He listened to my woe, with a wry smile.

As I finished, he put a cigarette to his lips,

And began his story, puffing out ashy vile,

With him coming to America on a ship.

Once returned, he met someone in the amber city,

With glowing eyes and a smile to brighten a man's soul.

A bond grew between them naturally,

And to spend their lives together became the goal.

...

But alas! The family interjected on their union,

The man from the ship wasn't good enough for their daughter,

Or their family, labelling him as just a hooligan.

She was taken back to the old country, like a lamb to the slaughter.

There wasn't much he could do, for neither was he rich or powerful,

But pain makes a man strong, and this was Armageddon.

He vowed to never let fate take what was his, and with a rule

To never fall in love again and run.

...

With a wistful look, the man said her name,

" Bilqis. The angel of my fairytale",

"But if this life was a game",

'Then I already had failed".

He spoke of their one last meeting,

After she had married the man from the old country.

Bilqis looked happy, but melancholy too, reading,

A book on how to love and how to be free.

...

The man looked at me and said to not let love go by,

To proclaim and reveal how I feel,

Cause if not, then all there will be for me to do is sigh,

And only think of what could have been in reels.

Bilqis may never had her fairytale ending,

but through her tragedy many may receive their sending.