By Hanan Kholoussy
PROMPT — I will not rest until ...
I will not rest until you are prosecuted
after you let that girl be persecuted
for the crime you executed
all of you
against her
How insecure must you be
to gang up on her
and take turns on her
after you drugged her
repeatedly
Would you rather not
one who willingly wants
you and what you got
who you didn’t have to knock
out to do
For despite all your power
all your connections
all your vouchers
and all of your protections
your insecurity remains
The people who protect you
must have been the ones who hurt you
for you to do this to the one underneath you
and the one who carried you
and to all of us for we are all her
You created a whole system
to ensure your power
Is it so fragile your kingdom
that you must insist to deflower
her and make the rest of us victims
Is it because we have the power
to bring life into this world
one that is only ours
despite your privileges unreserved
you are cowards
It can never be known
if the children we carry
are yours and yours alone
but we will always know
because it is our body and ours alone
That must be why you’re so insecure
It would make me too for sure
But instead of trust her
You choose to oppress her
and the rest of us too
Wouldn’t you rather one
who can help you and support you
who wants you inside her undone
rather than fear you
as we all do
Hanan Kholoussy is an author and associate history professor at the American University in Cairo where she teaches histories of the Middle East, wellness and gender. She earned her PhD from New York University and MA and BS from Georgetown University. Her academic publications have focused on modern Egyptian history. She shares her poetry on Instagram @honeybehealing. Hanan writes from Cairo, Egypt.