top of page
Search
Mallika Khan

Silence

Silence;

was someone I thought I didn’t mind

He said he lived in the bath

that perhaps

if I held my head

below water

for long enough

I could be amongst him

in the still and strong



Yet my body won't stop squirming

as I lay there, it feels wrong

water spills over the tub

as I dive

deeper

hard knocks on / the / door /

urge me to

come out already

maybe I am taking too long

to find you

love



my skin is wrinkled

from soaking myself in shame

at last

for air

I come up

as I can't live with Silence;

no I won't

I wanted the world (to) be quieter

and all he did was try to shut my mouth

to convince me that

love should not

S C R E A M

from the rooftops



I am a fool wrapped in a white towel

How could a man

show me

love without fear?


When it is a woman who risks the fall

It is a woman who knows constant injury

And it is a woman who rebuilds herself

time and time again

I urge myself to run for the hills

and yell to the sky,

withstanding the soapy bubbles

still fresh on my ankles.

Woman in Bath (1963) by Brett Whiteley

Commentaires


bottom of page