But...God is not Obliged - By Shaheen Sultan Dhanji
by SSD | October 30, 2009 at 7:34 PM
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No mistakes made here
these murders are precise
mathematical
these people blown apart - burned alive
flesh and blood all mixed together
a sight no human being can grasp
and yet we take and take
desensitized to the sacred defamed
witness youth strap 30 ibs of
dynamite to sore bodies 'cause
we always return to what we know
and if that's war
we return over and over to it
like an addicted lover -
sit at its feet to
remove - stone - shoes - bone and blues
don't know what to do with the visions of blown up babies so we
lame tongues
which should protest
love those who cannot
love us - hate ourselves and become
obsessed with puzzles
shifting through the rubble - we ask
where is the head that goes with this 8-year old shoulder
shattered - this leg looks like it fits with this hip
this dead with that dead -- see! they were twin rings
on bloated purple hands
tired of accepting fear and calling it life
being resolute and getting
over grief to prepare for more grief
we return to what we know
it's 2009 - the war -unyielding
this time the murdered are those who survived the last time
and this time's survivors are preparing for the next time
when fire shall rain down on heads bowed in prayer
But....God is not obliged
Comments
Moving poem
Hi Shaheen,
It's so good to see your presence in the community again! This is a powerful poem that causes me to shutter, causes me anger and also causes me to want to act - to plead with our governments to stop this endless cycle of war that "we always return to what we know/and if that's war/we return over and over to it/like an addicted lover."
Thank you for writing this and for sharing it with us. I hope that you continue to share your brave and powerful poetry with the PulseWire community.
Warm regards,
Jade
Moving poem
Dear Jade,
It is people like you who are the champions in igniting such a platform. Yes, when I was writing the above poem, there were many emotions running in my veins -- that of uselsss government systems that serve selfish interests and robs the innocent civilians from a dignified existence. That I came across a woman from Peshawar who had lost her husband whom she was married only for 4 days and instead of celebrating her new life, she was burying her husband. there are so many fundamental questions we need to probe and be proactive with the discoveries -- for these "discoveries" can only be found in the fabric of our hearts. When the voice within me becomes mute, I turn to an inward protest resulting in writing. Am grateful you "felt" my poem -- it is for all of us who have lost something in global destruction.
Yes, I shall be writing for PulseWire. Thank you for inspiring a change.
Much regards,
Shaheen
Thank you
Shaheen, thank you for shaking us from the numbness that we have allowed to creep into our souls to block the insanity from our minds. Thank you for reminding us that every statistic in the news is a brother, sister, friend, mother, father, soulmate. Thank you for not allowing us to sink into the comfort of our safe havens, ignoring what we cannot ignore. Thank you for speaking out for those whose voices have been silenced. And thank you for reminding us of our responsibility to raise our voices, high and loud, to stop this madness!
Well say. Nice poem
Well say. Nice poem
Peace!
Fatima
This is moving
Dear Shaheen,
This is such a strong expression of emotions for the suffering around us, for which I could have never found words. We see this suffering everyday, and yet, no matter what happens to the people of our country, it is a rare that we step out to protest. We have become so deaf and dumb, its like we don't even fell a thing now...
Rose.
Iffat Gill