Figs From Afghanistan: Remembering the Community of Shared Love
Words by Deeksha Sharma
Poetry | Issue 01
As I took the last bite
Of the figs from the Afghani land,
I lost the courage to throw its last packet from my home
Which read, “Made in Afghanistan”
I remember my childhood days
Growing up in the North Indian winters,
When I used to sit warmly in the quilt
With my brother and sister
Together, we took a bite of the lusciously sweet figs
And inserted our small fingers in the center of the round fruit,
Not knowing the trees will witness a crisis
Not knowing who’ll water their roots
Nostalgia – is all I feel now
Remembering the country whose stories,
My history books recited
I wonder what stories our children will read now
I wonder if those fig trees live with the same nostalgia
That I have been feeling for a long time,
Or if my mother will still give me figs from Afghanistan
With warm milk during bedtime
The community of shared love
Still exists today
And with hearts wide open
There’s so much I can say
That I’m hopeful and I believe
That love is not too weak,
And that Afghanistan will rise again
Despite the violence, despite the pain
I miss the sweet taste, I miss the Afghan stories
I miss the waving branches of the fig tree,
But the fig trees will be green again
With the next showers of the monsoon rain
And nostalgia hits me hard today
When the world feels far away,
From the country whose past I now dig
From the country that fed us figs
Rooted in community
Are stories of peace and love,
The more we are globally rooted
The more we rise above
Rise above hate and enmity
Rise above blood and violence,
Remembering the shared community of love
And its stories in silence.
Deeksha (she/her) is a development sector professional with diversified, multicultural, and global experience in advocacy, community engagement, and research for international organisations and not-for-profits in both India and the United Kingdom. She is passionate about finding creative ways to lead social change and making a positive contribution to both global and local communities. Her key focus is on social development, inclusion, well-being, content creation, writing, storytelling, sustainable/community-based travel, and culture. Deeksha also has her own blog, YouInVerse, where she creatively writes about development, travel and culture, well-being, and stories that matter. In November 2021, she won the “Bluehost WordPress Creators Award 2021” for digital creativity and innovation in India. She strongly believes that there are stories everywhere and we should keep discovering the ones that inspire us to be better humans. Being a development sector professional, she continuously strives to merge stories of development with creative writing and poetry.