When Night Arrives (LIVE YOUR FREE)
by Aisha Nuweisr

When night arrives 
My eyelids collapse into each other  
As I silently release prayers 
With hopes of some answers 
These were the prayers  
That were to shy to come out in daylight 
But anxiously await to explore the night 
During the day they piled up over themselves 
As if they’ve tripped over a mountain of shoes at the entrance of a house party
Lodging themselves in my throat making me choke every time
These were the prayers that we’re unable to pass my throat
Or my tongue 
Or my lips 
But at night at night
They sway and dance elegantly in the spotlight lit by the moon  
They stretch their sore limbs out from being compressed for so long  
Taking up as much space possible 
When night arrives 
I wonder  
If I’ll be able to get a good night's sleep or
If the noise in my head will become unbearable 
Overwhelmed with restlessness 
My heart listens closely comforting me 
She hears it all
She calms me down and tells me 
Don’t worry sis I got this 
And she does without fail
She knows how vulnerable these prayers are so she releases them in a frequency only we can hear
And while she keeps me calm 
She gives me the chance to fall asleep and dream 
To escape to a world I am most comfortable in 
Where I feel my most free
And when I arrive at my euphoria 
She makes sure to play the prayer I make every night 
She gives me the chance to visit my grandmother  
We sit under the amber sky
Perched up under her favorite tree 
Sipping teeeaa while she tells me stories that I’ve been longing to hear
She tells me stories of our people
Of our tribe my grandfather my father 
Of herself 
All while embracing me holding me close 
Resting my head on her chest 
Feeling it rise and fall with every breath taken
Listening to the soft steady thumps of her heart
Saddened by the fact that this is not forever