Kindness

I see her eyes blanked out
Through the dictation of fear
Only these orbs of light are uncovered
By the midnight cloth that shrouds her being.
A life dictated by arrogant male voices
Proclaiming their superior role,
Guardians of the world of women.
While this young girl speaks of wives
As employees of their husbands
Tears wash through my eyes.
Those same eyes of a witnessing child
Saw that same veiled look
In her own countrywomen
Being cleansed through the ritual
Designed in her native system
Of imanhood/priesthood
Of their sin through giving
The gift of life to the world.
The rivets of my heart burst off with anger and sadness
Knowing that these other female millions 
Are still walking blindly into the fetters of Islam
Or other religions that preclude equality
And never rooted in lovingkindness
The nurture source of light
That allows each person to shine
And share their own unique gift with the world.
We still witness this prehistoric worldview
That forbids a girl her dreams and consigns her being
To a robed and shuttered face, head to feet
Forever forbidden to dance and sing
Freely and incandescently.
Instead the best parts of being human
Are battered into a submission
Based on fear and duty
Not on the groundswell of love.
She will never feel the effect
Of spontaneous acts
Of reaching out to others,
The best part of our design,
Serving others with love so that they may live
In the milk of human kindness
Where each of us flowers
And transcends our weaknesses.
Never to understand that without this kindness
Each one of us remains locked up and unexplored
Because the key comes
Not through dominance but through love.