I love my dawra [cycle].
I call it dawra.
I don’t like using the word “period,”
Because it makes me feel as if I’m ashamed of it.
It’s one of those words we say in another language,
Because we’re too embarrassed of it.
I refer to it as my cycle because I’m not embarrassed by it.
Mama had told me that something like this was going to happen,
Ever since I was 9 years old.
I was 10 years old when I got it,
But I was still startled when I found the blood.
After the initial shock,
And mama’s consolation,
And her teaching me what to use pads,
And all the other details,
I felt happy because I was now a grown-up.
I would be able to sit with the grown-ups in family gatherings,
Not with the young children.
Years later, after my miscarriage,
I feel happy whenever I see my cycle’s blood.
It’s a new chance at life.