in the twisted steel

under the ribs of death

men and women weep

they weep sorrow

anger

and utter exhaustion as they dig inch by inch

into rubble

into nightmare caves and caverns

at the centre of a city

that used to laugh

sturdy men and women

who know love and loyalty and working together

search for companions

they are not willing to concede

to death and destruction

they stop only to console a child

or to gulp water

they are moving a mountain

while people all over the world

wait for the news they bring

tall and graceful

turquoise and alone in an ochre land

a land gone dry

you are entirely

anonymous

enigma

veiled in delicate cloth

of a gentler time

you stand utterly individual

a quiet strength

as you turn from the border

closed and barb-wired against you

three small children crowd in close around you

wind lifts through sand

as you turn back

into that bleak and scorched place

the delicacy of drapery sculpts you

and the other child you carry

not yet born

into that desert

that danger

that dust storm rising

carrying tears

which are too much luxury for you

too wasteful

I go out into my green and lovely garden

into this spirit of garden enclosed

which your people taught my people

centuries ago

out of this green grace

I send you thanks and all that I can muster

of burnt umber

and dust

you are a soldier

who are almost a child

wrapped in the folds of the colours of earth

brown and dust and grey

and sere

you hold that rifle

carefully

like an infant cradled

your feet are bare

weathered by sand and dust

you can walk long miles in the dirt

across the rock

with no boots to wear away

in the scree

can you

long-toed

browned on the earth

walk the snow

the ice

of mountain passes

and the wind

that will carve rock

where is your mother

grey with rattling dust

on a road of rock

that we had almost forgotten was there

one truck after another

falls into line

ponderous

with the weight of too little food

brave

in their decrepitude

in their fixed purpose

in their determination to deliver

to get there

one by one

they creak out of sight

around the curve of a desperate journey

around ribs of the mountain

they are the other side of the coin

these trucks of the dry earth

the other side of the face of anger

of hate

of ravaging revenge

they refuse bombs as answer

they do not stand by

this is the courage

that will not allow hunger

that does not acknowledge drought

or snipers’ bullets,

while there is even one glimmer of a chance

that bald tires and stripped gears

will hold this rock

this mountain road

that almost nobody knows

any more

Of women, there are ten I love;

beautiful souls they must be.

I pray to be there with them,

where I can fully see.

On the road to Paradise,

is where they all will lead

the good ones of humanity

on a pilgrimage of love.

Eve, I still remember,

as grandmother of all.

Strong by Adam she stood,

when no others were there.

Moses’ mother, protective,

Trusted in God.**

In the Nile, she floated her baby,

to be returned to her a wise son.

The Pharaoh’s wife,

bravely said “I believe in God –

I worship not my husband;

he is but a man, my king, my love.”

And Mary’s faithful mother,

humbly kneeled and prayed

and offered up her daughter,

to serve God forever.

Then Mary, Jesus’ mother,

divinely chosen, nourished

a miraculous son,

the Messiah, a Messenger of His word.

Khadija, the Prophet’s wife,

was the first woman of an era of faith;

to her gentle words of wisdom,

the Prophet used to return.

Fatima, the Messenger’s daughter,

was a mother of great worth **

to two sons*,* Hassan and Hussein*,

who were *superior in character and also in name.

A’isah, a learned scholar, a teacher

to men and women of all age,

was the Prophet’s wife, a leader

beyond duty from a young age.

Rab’ia, a Sufi saint,

spoke memorable words: “All of me

loves You because You deserve such love.

**Seeing Your beauty is my ultimate aim.”

And finally, the unknown woman:

her kind presences

bring into life a fresh breeze,

not just for me but for countless others.