Marsiya of Silent Stars

~ broken covenant with innocents ~

‘ Mother and Child’ detail private collection art 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.

Bring me a nibble of a butterfly fish

— O bullet-shattered soul!

Sing me a breeze, chuffs of a polar bear

— my ash-choked soul!

Drop me on a dark mountain

I’ll magic a kill for a famished lone wolf.

Chill a storm, smite an army of hail

— rancid water sits on my soul!

Coax a seed, love-soaked and ripe

hurl me on distant berried bushes