I can smell smoke and hear fire… Is it Zainab or Fatima?
* * *
I see ashes fall from the sky… and I can hear something burning
I catch some ash within my hand… and I can hear the ash wailing
I ask the ash – who’s in danger? Is it Zainab or Fatima?
* * *
Tell me O’ ash, what did you see… when fire threw you in the air?
Did you witness Ali in chains… or Hussain’s daughters in despair?
Who now does the fire torture? Is it Zainab or Fatima?
* * *
Tell me O’ ash, what is that smell… I cannot tell where you’ve come from?
Is that the scent of Karbala… or the sweet scent of Ali’s home?
By whom does the fire flicker? Is it Zainab or Fatima?
* * *
If it’s the door that’s on fire… were the children safe from the smoke?
I can see stars falling to Earth… because they hear Fatima choke
Whose lungs breathe in more smoke than air? Is it Zainab or Fatima?
* * *
If it’s the tents, where do they run… because the desert burns their feet?
The only cold place they can stand… is in the blood their father bleeds
Which one cries out for their father? Is it Zainab or Fatima?
* * *
Tell me O’ ash, how can it be… this family twice is aflame?
The ribs that break in Fatima… cry for the ribs inside Hussain!
Which one will hear the ribs shatter… Is it Zainab or Fatima?
* * *
(London – 28/01/18)