Prisoner of Existence

By Mariyam Qurayshi

You tethered me to life’s cruel chain

Made death a sin, yet anchored me to pain

Why let me crawl when I could soar?

Why make me your slave when I can serve you for nothing more?

I ache in ways I cannot speak

A hollow cry, a soul grown weak.

Trapped within this weary skin

My flesh is my prison that I can’t break in.

No door, no key, no breath, no peace,

No way to end, no sweet release.

So end me now or set me free

Before this life consumes all of me.

You see my faith, you see my heart

Was it not You who spoke from the start?

That “the world is a prison for the believer”

So tell me now how long must I stay?

How much more of this delay?

End my sorrow when You see right,

And lay my corpse gently in the night.

By Mariyam Qurayshi