Destination

Little one with luminous, expressive eyes,
I think about you destined for the veil
Will a law of bondage tyrannize,
The captivity of customs then prevail?

No longer limited to desert climes,
Into new cultures you become a part.
Will you hold to mores of ancient times
Or grasp the light of liberty onto your heart?

Or, as you blend in, raise families and live,
Will my grandchildren lean toward the veil?
In a land where many nations flavor give,
We who love freedom pray it will prevail.

That, possessing liberties that we hold dear
You’ll skip openly in freedom’s light,
And my grandchildren, also, free of fear,
Together will dismiss repression’s night.

As years go by, may you, too, give your voice;
May you share in the liberty we prize.
And in a better world for all rejoice,
Little one with luminous, expressive eyes.