Night Thieves

A Poem by Nervana Zahran

In the night
it stole my soul
swallowed me whole
it took me
became me
fluorescence vanished
the monster was famished
oh I miss my eden
before the horror started screaming

a masters in life lessons couldn’t hold
against a crash course in hell
so cold
an ending curated to break me
shame me
-it did-
turned me to a broken shadow walking in the masses
of small men I’ve never known to exist
watching
waiting to violate me
watermark me
again
and again

understand that I am no victim
can’t crowd me into it
I bite hard
teeth sink deep
my grave
my home
it does not drift
-for all you know-
but I’ll know
my sorrow is divine
I’ll come back infinite
caterpillar butterfly style

Reduce me
if you think you know how
I determine my value
I’ll rewrite my stars
a thousand times
till you can get it out of your tiny mind
that you can tame me
cage me
humiliate me
what is a cockroach to a shark?
a heathen to a God?
your assault to my mature scars?

I’ll rise, I’ll fall, I’ll cry,
I’ll laugh, I’ll run, I’ll fly
in 3D, I’m alive
I own my soul’s demise
I owe myself the rebirth
nothing was lost
if every inch was still mine