Hijab

Tonight while dark vermillion parts my hair,

in a hijab studded with wines of black pearls

that sings of a dreamless night

I have wrapped a secret whose

ends I don’t know, where lies its beginnings.

I can close my eyes and touch it

and hear you behind me

parrots from niches above us

flying into the dense clouds

casting shadows we cannot see.

I kept the hijab from flying

with the wind that murmured

apologies of delayed monsoons and a defiant sea.

You washed your feet on the marble sink

And I watched as you smiled at me.

I waited outside as you offered salah

And as if I always knew it 

like the scar behind my ear

that you'll trace with your fingers on another night 

I wanted at that moment to be

your prayer,

your belief,

your god and

 the earth you prostrate on.

Slightly laced with my perfume,

 I’ll return you the hijab tonight

and with it for safekeeping

this secret of a memory.