A MARSIYA for the Fallen

~yet a poppy blooms in every heart~

‘Where have they gone?’ Image by author

MARSIYA means elegy, a lament. It is written principally in praise of Imam Hussain, grandson of the Prophet, and family members martyred at the Battle of Karbala on the banks of Euphrates in the year 680 CE in Iraq. They are regarded as martyrs by both Sunni and Shi’a. English-speaking poets, whether Muslim, Christian, have also made significant contributions to produce elegies for Imam Hussain and Battle of Karbala.

savage me

shatter me!

it’s what the world

wants

desolate me

despond me!

cut me with a storm

raised by

blood-soaked

arms of the

carcass of justice.

Rose-dusted days

ignescent embraces

grieve. Eloquence deaf

dormant in despair.