Waris ~ A Poem by Parvinder Mehta

Waris

Their eyes filled with suspicion
screening for potential danger
fail to see his humanity. Their gaze
of mistrust denies him approval, and
insists on random searches
again and again. He hopes they will
learn about him, understand him.
Someday they will …

Some kind eyes may politely
plead for additional scrutiny
yet many others glaringly intimidate
and dehumanize him. Their doubts for
his traveling to routine destinations
on vacations, on journeys to living his life
cast aspersions on his refusal to assimilate.
His bright turban, turns their cautionary
gaze, impelling them to demand
adherence. They ask him to take off
his turban at the fancy airports
celebrating diversity with humongous,
exotic frames of ethnic faces and
concrete smiles plastered and painted
on walls. “Only a routine check-up, Sir!”
smirkingly mutters one of them. He smiles
calmly yet refuses the exhibition demanded.
“Not here, never!” He asks for other ways to
alleviate their doubts. “Why do they come here
caring so much about the head nonsense?”
they mutter. He follows them with a calm fury
to another panopticon of surveillance.
“They do not understand,” he thinks,
patting down his own turban with
affection and respect, holding out
his hands to their suspicious scrutiny
and mechanized screening.
Someday they will…

He collects his belongings,
wondering about such unbelonging.
They do not understand
those traditions and histories,
those memories and chronicles
of sacrifices and affirmation,
brave resistance and resilience,
against conversion and assimilation.
Someday, he hopes, they will learn
to tolerate turbans, the crowns of
commitment to defend and stand tall.

Till then he must educate the errors,
tell them his reasons. Someday they will
accept his desire to follow, to cherish
this tradition of belonging and promise.
Someday they will…