That shrubbery behind the park
That shrubbery behind the park with
that rosy-pink bush
the one that always has rosy-pink flowers
that welcomes everyone.

And inside those flowers lives the Queen
The Queen of fairies who loves
to sing
I can remember that symphony
of all the fairies
The harmonised songs that we sang together

I remember when I was little
trying to keep it all a secret
But, I blurted it all out to Grandma
and she said she knew them already
and that she always sang with them
when she was little, in the shrubbery. 

That shrubbery has
a lot of memories
One time we were dancing
And one fairy toppled onto the dance floor
and her props landed
right in front of the fairy queen.
We laughed it out.
Those moments I cherish are like...
That dulcet voice of the Fairy Queen!

I remember her blessing me
with the bright future, I have today
This job as a mayor, this husband of mine
and these fairy kids of mine
smiling like the sun.

How could I tear down
that shrubbery behind the park?
How could I forget
that I grew up with the fairies?
How could I be not loyal
to the fairy Queen
who made me who I am?
Where did I leave my mind
when I decided
to cause this pain?

After all this time,
I still remember that shrubbery.
That shrubbery behind the park,
That shrubbery with all those
enchanting songs
which is now just a piece of land
with only sand
and the symphonic pattern
of absolute silence.

Afra Samsudeen

(Afra Samsudeen is pictured above receiving her poetry book prize)