Blooming Moons: a Poem by Mira Hammoud

Split

Down the middle

On the one end

I have Her

The American dream

Her faith on the back burner

On the other end

We have Her

The one who beams

At the thought of god

Who thinks of nothing but Him

The holy one

She is split, because the two worlds cannot be one

Ever.

For them to join

Would be against the principal set

By the Old Ones

The ones who don’t understand

What it’s like to be her

The split

She hopes to redeem herself

Put together the worlds

But

Never ever could they be together

She cries at night for she doesn’t understand why

Why must they be split

Why must she be one way, and not the other

Too muslim

Too American

Never enough

She wants to be Her

Both at the same time

But she can’t

I am Mira Hammoud. I’m a 14-year-old Muslim girl in Michigan. I live with my younger brother and my parents. I have lived all over the country, and even across the world. My passion for English and writing has been evident since I was young. I started writing as a way to express myself and my feelings. However, as my writing began to improve, I started to see that it could also affect other people. Now, I write to make people feel something. Whether it be sadness, happiness, or anything in between.

29 November 2022