Jannat, by Jannat Rashad

  • Post category:Poetry

My name is Jannat

It is not Janet

Or Ja-nat

Or Ja-nut

Or Jeannette

My name is Jannat

 

I have been told the pronunciation sits 

foreign on the tongue

But if you can teach yourself to say

supercalifragilisticexpialidoscious 

Then you can easily say Jannat – which 

is 12 syllables less mind you 

My name which is given to me by my 

mother and father 

My name which is mentioned 77 times 

in The Holy Qur’an

My name which is the true destination 

for anyone 

Jannat. Paradise.

A beautiful sound.

Copyright © Shahema Tafader 2022
Jannat Rashad

Jannat Rashad

I wrote this poem in a moment of reflection when I realised I was beginning to introduce myself as Jay instead of Jannat, that I wouldn’t even tell people my name is Jannat. It was a slap in the face and I realised I was doing my name an injustice. This poem is a reminder to myself, of myself.