Beyond

I don’t mind if you laugh.
For ridicule is merely the lightest of rains
upon this thickened skin.
Instead, let me speak a word of hope
into the narrow bitternesses of your mouth.
You can reach a place beyond,
you can become more
than the years have made of you.
The first step is to realise
that beyond all these petty squabbles
is an Ocean of starlit waters,
whose liquid grace
can wash us all clean once more.



- Abdur Rahman -