Siah
26-12-05, 23:07
Ya *Ali
This is by no means
The whole story
We can see the end
Not the process
The consequences
Not the causes
In Najaf
At Imam Ali’s** shrine
A sad recognition of…
What? I ask.
Ya Ali
A woman mourns
Cuddling her dead son
Looking at the sky
Not the shrine
As if...
What? I ask.
A bomb falls
On a house
Not the shrine
Al hamdullilah
Thank God
Ya Ali
In the haunting miles
Of Wadi Assalam***
Gravediggers
To bury their fear
Conjure the blessings of
The murdered Imam.
F16 strikes
Silence no more
Noble, dispassionate,
Unsentimental
One and a half million Dead
Bound to no one
They murmur
Ya Ali
In the Sahan****
By the shadow of the Imam
A young fighter
Rests
An old book in hand
He reads
“Proclaim the truth”
“Stand by the oppressed not the oppressor”*****.
Apache helicopters fire
Thick black smoke rises
Smell of burnt flesh
Fills the air
Is he someone we know?
I ask.
Yaaa Aliiiiii
I hear no answer.
* Ya: To call and plead.
** Imam Ali: Cousin and son in law of Mohamed, the prophet. In Iraqi popular culture he is invoked for help, especially by women in need. He is buried in Najaf city.
*** Wadi Assalam: Valley of peace, in Najaf, the largest cemetery in the world.
**** Sahan: courtyard of a shrine.
***** Sayings by Imam Ali
--------------------------
by Nedhal Abbas
Nedhal Abbas is an Iraqi poet
Translated by Haifa Zangana.
This is by no means
The whole story
We can see the end
Not the process
The consequences
Not the causes
In Najaf
At Imam Ali’s** shrine
A sad recognition of…
What? I ask.
Ya Ali
A woman mourns
Cuddling her dead son
Looking at the sky
Not the shrine
As if...
What? I ask.
A bomb falls
On a house
Not the shrine
Al hamdullilah
Thank God
Ya Ali
In the haunting miles
Of Wadi Assalam***
Gravediggers
To bury their fear
Conjure the blessings of
The murdered Imam.
F16 strikes
Silence no more
Noble, dispassionate,
Unsentimental
One and a half million Dead
Bound to no one
They murmur
Ya Ali
In the Sahan****
By the shadow of the Imam
A young fighter
Rests
An old book in hand
He reads
“Proclaim the truth”
“Stand by the oppressed not the oppressor”*****.
Apache helicopters fire
Thick black smoke rises
Smell of burnt flesh
Fills the air
Is he someone we know?
I ask.
Yaaa Aliiiiii
I hear no answer.
* Ya: To call and plead.
** Imam Ali: Cousin and son in law of Mohamed, the prophet. In Iraqi popular culture he is invoked for help, especially by women in need. He is buried in Najaf city.
*** Wadi Assalam: Valley of peace, in Najaf, the largest cemetery in the world.
**** Sahan: courtyard of a shrine.
***** Sayings by Imam Ali
--------------------------
by Nedhal Abbas
Nedhal Abbas is an Iraqi poet
Translated by Haifa Zangana.