I Can't Breathe and other poems

Zulfikar's Cry

O Mountains of Makkah,
Why does the falcon
Perched on your peaks
Raise its majestic head
And let out a piercing cry
Carried by thunderstorms
To the lighted Minarets of al-Madinah?

Why does the two-humped camel
Memories of its ancestor
Proudly carrying the most blessed
Of human beings
Across the vast expanse of the desert
Traverse the sands where he rode
Lower it's head in grief and shame?

Zulfikar, sheathed for centuries
Cries out from a place unknown
A cry of defiance, true to himself:
This cowardice and betrayal
Wrapping itself around flags of national pride
Robbing children of their innocence
Their tiny bodies drenched
With the tears of their mothers
This insanity - this atrocity
This reign of terror and fear
No human can endure, can condone
Rise up! Rise up and speak!
Rise up and let the voice of history
Carry across the windswept plains
Across the lands of power and affluence
And thunder in towns and cities
Do not be sad! You will overcome!

Pilgrims on the floral rugs
Of the blessed Rawda
With grieving hearts and tearful eyes
Prostrate, a prayer on their lips:
"Our Lord! Let not our bleeding hearts
for one moment forget this injustice;
give us the strength to stand tall against the tyrants and oppressors;
let the children play with their toys and gifts
and be not terrorized by bombs and drone strikes
let honour return to the women
and courage and dignity to the men.
You are our hope and our refuge.
~ Farhad