Hasnain Ali Syed
Toxic Gallantry
You are Chivalrous
In your mind
You stand tall
So upright
Smoking cigarettes
Without a count
You’re only concerned
With having a good time
You fabricate stories
Based on chronicles
Of your Gallantry
Just to amuse them
Or maybe amuse yourself
Who knows
Everything is about yourself
You play with girls first
And then, their repute
You talk about the encounters
With your girlfriends.
So openly, repeatedly
You’re proud of yourself
For fooling half a dozen girls
At one time
With none knowing the truth
In your circle of men,
Your apprentices
And acquaintances
You gloat about it
But I noticed
I noticed the frown
On your face
The choking
The lowering of the tone
Of your otherwise undaunted voice
When you were asked a question
About your wife
You tried to avoid it
You tried to avert taking her name
Because it makes you vulnerable
You judge all men to think
As polluted as you do and so
You don’t mention her
In any of your stories
You talk about your son,
Sometimes
And how he plays with your gadgets
But never a thing about
Your daughter who had her
First day at school today
You don’t talk about her
You won’t talk about her
Because you are scared
That even though they
Pretend to respect you
The men around you
Will not spare the women
In your life
They will imagine things
All too vile
You know this for sure
Only because
You would too
About another’s daughter
Another’s wife
—Submitted on 06/28/2020
Hasnain Ali Syed was born in Sialkot, Pakistan, and moved to Lahore to study medicine, graduating with a medical degree from Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed al Nahyan Medical College. He lives in Lahore with his family.
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