In detention
in concentration camps
we trade stories
we take turns sharing the straw mat
we watch what crawls in and out of the sand
As-Salāmm 'Alaykum
The guards do not allow the blue woolen blanket
my family traveled far to bring
to this crepuscular and gelid cell
where my still breathing infant son
and I
defy the purgatory implications
of a state-created hell
Wa 'Alaikum As-Salām
The village trembles from the heavy
tanks that try
to terrify the children:
Everyday
my little brother runs behind the rubble
practicing the tactics of the stones
against the rock.
In January soldiers broke his fingers
one by one. Time has healed
his hands but not the fury that controls
what used to be
his heart.
Insha Ā'llāh
Close the villages
Close the clinics
Close the school
Close the house
Close the windows of the house
k** the vegetables languishing under the sun
k** the milk of the cows left to the swelling of pain
Cut the electricity
Cut the telephones
Confine the people to the people
Do Not Despair of the Mercy of Allah
Fig trees will grow and oranges erupt from desert
holdings on which plastic bullets
(70% zinc, 20% gla**, 10% plastic)
will prove blood soluble
and fertilize the earth
where sheep will graze
and women no longer grieve and beat
their breasts
They will beat clean
fine-woven rugs outside a house
smelling of cinnamon
and nutmeg
Ahamdullilah
So says Iman
the teacher of peace
the shepherd on the mountain of the lamb
the teacher of peace
who will subdue the howling of the lion
so that we may kneel
as we must
five times beginning just after dawn
and ending just before dusk
in the Ibādah
of prayer
Allāhu Akbar
Allāhu Akbar
Allāhu Akbar