Devon Balwit
Raisins Not Virgins, Quran Scholars Say
Martyred for your faith, you will get hur,
the pearl of great price, light shards shimmering,
white raisins, the fruits of your labor.
How could it be otherwise, the 72 pur-
ported virgins? How could rape be reward, suffering
commendation? It is one thing for you, my martyrs,
to offer your necks, but quite another
to take what is not freely given. My darlings—
white raisins are the fruits of your labor,
the hur that remains after sun-glare bur-
geons shoots sent skyward, distilling
cloud-stuff to sweet nubs for martyrs.
Leave the virgins to ripen, to offer
themselves to those of their choosing.
White raisins are the proper gift for your labors,
for your clamorous soul-hunger, my martyrs.
Editor’s Note: See this article and others you can easily find online for background on the premise of this poem.
Devon Balwit is a writer/teacher from Portland, Oregon. Her poems of protest have appeared previously in What Rough Beast as well as in The New Verse News, Poets Reading the News, Rattle, Redbird Weekly Reads, Rise-Up Review, Rat’s Ass Review, The Rising Phoenix Review, Mobius, and more.
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