Pious puzzle
possessing an ability to answer
and fill small students
with the gratifying glory
of perfect pieces.
Plaguing puzzle
infiltrating innocent infants
with wrenching righteousness
to conquer chaos, confining
it to measurably morbid
maps for mothers
to excruciatingly expand, explain.
Pretentious puzzle
luring luscious littles
with entitlement excellence
damning dads with demands
for single, straightforward
solutions to silence
babies of barbaric binaries
clawing and crying
for jungles made of jigsaw
paved pieces.
Cover image by Willi Heidelbach, via Wikimedia Commons
About the author
Tasnim Sammak is a PhD student at the Faculty of Education, Monash University (Clayton). She's a spokesperson and founder of Solidarity for Palestine - Narrm, Melb.