watching women

we are
wired with self-conscious
elbows
ankles
and curves,
hiding beneath cloth canopies
for public protection.
Eyes: side-wize
or furtive flustering ensues
while he whistles, wanders form,
with undressing looks.
Can he sneak an innocuous grope,
heavy-breathed and light-handed
for a foreign female infidel
in an abstaining holy month?

whosh, an accidental hand slipping reward
for services rendered.
shokrun metro.
shokrun shokrun.
like an empty vase,
smooth curves caressed.

even at our most conservative.
this stifling heat.


and then, the bubble bursts:
with a brilliance of female faithfulness
we are born unto ourselves
with private popcorn
solidarity
and forgiveness?
well, perspective.
and examples from our minority
of this minority
of misguided 'protectors'.

oh, the politics of power
to be lived afresh each day
and the hallmarks of equality
that have been stolen since Eve.
Yet it is a male curse to be pitied
for their fear entraps us all.
I am sorry,
brothers.
Let us share the load.