The Prickly Pear Poem by Sadaf Aslam

Oh, prickly, prickly, prickly pear
How do you smile? No fuss? No fear?

No dappled shade in your fate
No mulch or hay comes your way

No gentle touch, no tender care
But sweet fruit, you will bear

Oh, prickly, prickly, prickly pear
How do you smile? No fuss? No fear?

Some drops of rain from a passing cloud
And I swell up, feeling proud

Some sandy dunes, some arid air
Perfect for my bristly hair

But pain and grief, pierce the heart
And shoot through me as prickly darts

So I remember what mother had said
As she lay resting on her bed

"Your smile feeds the hungry souls
The forgotten ones, the barely knowns"

The dark of night gives me grace
I let the smile fall off my face

But when the morning sun comes up
And I see a hand with an empty cup

Pebbles or rocks or a bowl of dust
I just smile, because I must

Inspired by stories of doctors working in war zones. In particular, Weam, featured by Humans of New York