Shay Khan...(1) Sister Asha Is Well
Catherine Dickerson
Shay Khan, come and eat with me
and rest your militant body on ancient woven silk.
Our right hands were created for cradling hot rice and goat,
when we draw together over a shared bowl.
Smile at me and tell me I am your sister, Asha.
Only you and Allah can guarantee my security tonight.
I hear the Muezzin(2) crying his last cry from above:
"Allahu Akbar... Allahu Akbar... “(3)
Evening prayers to Mecca have ended
and the shedding of life has begun.
Grenades explode—Kashmiri rats run for their lives
through the warm, rotting wood on my houseboat.
Strangers rap softly on stained glass.
Rocket launchers, clutched in dirty brown hands,
gleam silently in the watery moonlight.
Terrorists always speak politely when they inquire,
"Is Sister Asha well?"
I hear the Muezzin crying his first cry from above:
"Allahu Akbar... Allahu Akbar..."
Morning prayers to Mecca have begun
and the counting of bodies has ended.
Executions in the pale blue dawn are forever violent.
Accurate shots to the temples of two complete this session.
Enshroud the rapist in cold white.
Envelop the traitor in sweet scent.
Secret deliveries begin when Mothers wail in the distance.
Shay Khan, Grand Leader of the Liberation Front,
your sister, Asha, is well.
_______________________
1 :: The Kashmiri translation for "Big Tiger."
2 :: The Holy man who announces prayers from a minaret in a mosque.
3 :: "God is most great..."
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