Hagar in America

6 Dhu'l-Hijjah 1425 - Poem 6

By Mohja Kahf

We came over together
I spoke no English
He had a mission:
grad school, then it’s back to save the masses

Here I am now with the baby on my hip,
alone in Newark,
on foot, looking for milk at the all-night Exxon
I hear he’s marrying her,
the teaching assistant with the frosted hair

I have to learn how to drive

First published in Middle East Report, #205, Winter, p. 39 1997