By Giya Agarwal
10th grade | Interlake Senior High School | Washington
Third place winner, Peace and Conflict category
With lines from “Far From Home” by Amie Ferris-Rotman and Zahra Joya, a Pulitzer Center reporting project
I. NAJIBA
run, run, run far in the night
under the cover of a burqa
see how a motherland disappears
the word ‘girl’ spat like a curse
see how terror walks into a city
call me a patriot, call me a refugee
the strange men call and say…
run, run, run far in the night
cross mountains & moonlight
II. BATOOL
a marketplace & sounds of home
what is knowledge worth?
draw escape routes into earth
flee once, flee twice
be everything a regime fears
we are all warriors here
protest songs & sounds of home
claimed asylum within rome
a mother’s love is finding hope
III. SAHRA
half a lifetime out of reach
every night I dream my memories…
closed eyes see kabul roots while
eyes open to london hotel rooms
a whiteboard & an unshaped youth
there is power in history & truth
a new half a lifetime out of their reach
relearn the language & lexicon
my survival is a form of rebellion
IV. HASINA & RAIHANA
the two angels are grounded
burn every trace of our existence
pilot IDs & diplomas are kindling
uniforms traded for aprons
worn suitcases and paper maps
finding ways to fill a sky’s gap
hell hath no fury like a woman…
the two angels will fly again
V. ZAHRA
clean the camera lens
anxious texts & a screen aglow
we are all immortalized in photo
art is the air in a dying man’s lungs
metal pins in pictures of suffering
like tasting iron on tongue
the world will see our blood
sitting in front of blank canvas
looking for peace outside bamiyan
focus the camera lens
VI. BASIRA
the soldier at the front of two wars
makeup and a sheer veil: armor
raise a voice or raise a sword
I built this empire all by myself
worn poetry books on the shelf
brandish a sign, march on the streets
dublin flats & learning to leave
the soldier at the front of two wars
whether it’s who you love or who you are
each battle is the same at its core
VII. MASOUMA
rise from the ash, rise, rise
become accustomed to goodbyes
the fairy lights & the candles behind
colder mornings & the echo of sirens
there is a relief in waking to silence
reach out & clutch the next horizon
weathered backpack & past lives
do you see the survivor in my eyes
rise from the ash, rise, rise
Giya Agarwal is a rising junior at Interlake High School. Her work has previously been recognized by the New York Times and Hollins University. She loves to write, especially about global issues such as climate change or women’s rights and believes that art is one of the truest forms of advocacy. Outside of writing, she spends her time competing at Speech & Debate, volunteering, and listening to ABBA on repeat.
Read more winning entries from the 2024 Fighting Words Poetry Contest.