"The Ambush"
A Poem By Nimah Ismail Nawwab

He watched the old movie unfold
The headcovered man bashing his van into a building
Nodding his head: 'Yes another one, they are terrorists'
The calm way he uttered those words
The look in his young eyes,
Made me ache.

For they had won,
Hands down they had won,
Ultimately they had won,
Their hollow victory turning the world upon itself.

Those demented fanatics have implanted the bitter seeds
Our young believing that terror is to stay
Their questioning self identity constant
Their questioning elements of society a fact,
Could I really answer?
Did I even want to answer?
No justification, no excuse can wipe,
Needless deaths, destruction of innocents,
Not a single life lost could be justified.

The land turned into a big gated occupied territory
The once-peaceful kingdom rent with shootouts,
As the tolerance of our peaceful spiritual beliefs
Is hijacked, twisted, used.

Power-hungry zealots
Misguided by the need for vengeance,
Vengeance against perceived,
Unacceptable ways of life,
Those whose hearts have been wiped clean,
Clean of the basic tolerance for fellow man
A tolerance making the religion thrive,
A spirit attracting billions to the faith,
All dashed on the rocks
In the surging ravaging river of hatred for the other.

As the very essence of our faith now stands in danger
Of this ambush from within,
Turning back upon them,
Derailing their intentions
As their hate colors their vision of the truth
That we are all, all, all
Sons and daughters of Adam
That the three faiths, our stay, our guide
Are interlinked, bonded forever
Sealed by The One
To spread their message of peace for human kind.

May 4, 2004

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