Nilofar’s mother sang one morning
My pretty little daughter
You are everything to me
With your blue fairy eyes
You are my breath and heart
Without you I am nothing
Nilofar smiled as her mother sang
She said sweet words back
Mother I feel paradise in your bosom
The softest silk in your white hands
The perfume of flowers in your body
Mother I am nothing without you
Suddenly another loud sound
As rocks and buildings crashed
As the earthquake roared
The landslide smashing
Into houses and schools
Nilofar’s mother stopped singing
When the sound of death said
I am danger and you are no more
I am everywhere sang the earthquake
In Badkhshan, Takhar, and Kabul
And no one can save you but Allah
Nilofar’s mother no longer sings
Still her little daughter hears
The sound of her mother’s voice
By Sharifa
Photo by Mardetanha
Sharifa — This is a heartbreakingly beautiful poem in which you make so very human the victims of this devastating earthquake. Your poem shows how fragile life is and how it can be taken away in an instant. Thank you for writing this. Love and best wishes, Nancy
Sharifa, the beauty of your words and rhythms takes me beyond the TV and newspaper reports of a natural disaster on top of the man-made disaster in your country. You show how the simple love of mother and child transcends this world. Your poem makes me yearn for my loved ones. Thank you for writing this. I want to read more of your work. Peace, Pegi