Passing the Torch
by Jamilah Kolocotronis
Yesterday I had a baby. A boy.
Round face, dark hair, dark eyes
and lungs to wake up the neighbors.
He crawled, walked, ran, left home.
Today a new baby in our family.
A girl. Round face, dark hair
and lungs to wake up the neighbors.
I've raised my child. It's his turn now.
About Jamilah Kolocotronis
Jamilah Kolocotronis is the author of four published books. These include three novels--Innocent People, Echoes, and Rebounding--and the non-fiction treatise, Islamic Jihad. She is currently working on Turbulence, the third book in her Echoes Series.
Jamilah grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She made shahadah at the age of 23, after a brief stint at a Lutheran seminary. Before becoming a Muslim, she studied all the major religions.
In 1985 she received her Ph.D. in Social Science Education. For several years she taught and coordinated the social studies program at an Islamic school. In 2002 she left teaching in order to concentrate on writing.
She has traveled throughout Southeast Asia, and lived in her husband's country of Thailand for two years. She has also visited each of the fifty states. She has six sons and an infant granddaughter named Aisha.