I try in life to not ask much of others;
I don’t want bad impressions of me to be made.
But there’s one thing I really want
And it’s the one thing I never actually say.
To all of you who are whispering over there;
And I don’t mean this to cause you any disgrace,
But the next time you say something about me,
Please, I beg of you, say it to my face.

Every day I struggle to hold my pride.
I can hear all of the voices feigning a veil,
But really not trying that hard to hide.
I can hear the ignorance in those who guess,
Speculating wildly about my state of dress,
And in others I hear contempt and hate
Criticizing or assuming atrocities of my faith.
I can hear propaganda blaring in the background
Ideas spread by the news governing all thought
But I don’t pay attention to things that surround
Because I am wishing they would say it to my face.

Why, I ask of you, bother with overloud whispers?
Why not set forth your curious minds to question?
In my faith, we are all brothers and sisters,
So do not be ashamed, and do not fear,
Take it from me myself, I want to hear.
I will gladly share with you reasons for my dress,
And I won’t be insulted if you know nothing yet,
And I’m willing to listen to you criticize, so don’t hold back
In speaking your mind to my face.

A moment to those of you who prefer to stare
To those of you with the most silent of words
And to those of you who pretend not to care.
To those of you with your glares of hatred
And those of you with hidden spite in mind
I hope you’ll pardon me when I say it,
Or you might even be surprised to find
That I can see you.
Know you are the same as the rest.
There is a faux veil and a hidden word
But I am not so easy to best.
I can see you there, and my request stays
That you feel free to speak to my face.

I am proud of who I am and how I seem
The blood that flows through me is faithful
And I’ll stay strong to it and that’s all I need.
I will veil myself for the sake of modesty
And take other actions according to my creed.
If you come to me I will not falter or fade
And when you leave you will be wiser
So we’d all be better off if you ended the charade
And since long ago I’ve seen no reason
And pardon me if my words are treason
But you are usually the one speaking
About me but never to me
So I think I deserve what I am seeking
Which is the honor and right to speak to your grace
So I humbly request of you to speak of me to my face.