becoming her

I am haunted by the idea of becoming
that woman in the narrow streets
with her billowing buibui 
and kohl lined eyes
who reveals more with her painted face
than she intends to hide

I am haunted by the promise of loss
where after years of devotion
you would take another
with lustre in her hair
and skin which is not marked by the passing of children
A child cum woman
to consume the desire you once had for me
the beauty I once kept for you
but now cannot keep from slipping away

She is your mother and grandmother and the wife
of every man who wants another

And I do not know whether you will become your father
or grandfather or every man with a wife or two
who still wants another