Get your own Free Home PageDon't turn around.
Leave them behind.
Even though they are your own kind.
For you are whom they shun.
And it is you whom they look down upon.
They say that it is wrong to run the race.
For you are a woman; therefore, it is not your place.
In addition, your legs, face, and arms are exposed.
Quite a contrast to the beliefs of the people in Algiers, which are shown by their prose.
"You will die", they say.
You will not be allowed to defy the Quran this way.
Dirty, unclean, and unfaithful you are to the multitude.
Yet, they negate their views by their unholy attitude.
When all you tried to do was achieve.
Achieve the impossible, they believed.
The most you tried to do was to give glory to your country.
The same country that you had to flee.
Nevertheless, you showed your loyalty,
when you waved the flag after the victory,
and won the gold medal for the land of your birth.
This medal was its first.
Then tears ran down your face as the celebration had begun.
And you did only what you knew how to do--run.
© Copyright 1997 by Norrisa
This is a tribute to the Algerian long distance runner, Hassiba Boulmerka.
She has survived in spite of numerous death threats. As a result, she
had to flee from her country. This poem tells of her struggles and victories.
It describes one victory of great importance--a gold medal at the 1992
Olympics in Barcelona,Spain.
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