Hell (Qeeyamat)

by Qais Arsala

10-08-2001 Written after the U.S. Attacks

The skies are screaming
In thunderous rage
For every thud
My heart breaks for the maimed without the wheelchair*

For every flash on the CNN screen
I think of the child holding on so close to her mother's dress
Trembling with fear of the inevitable

Jalalabad and Kabul on Fire
As the "collateral" damage scrambles in a desperate attempt
To break free of this hell called The "Taliban"

I close my eyes only
To see the tears of my shattered land
Attempting to break free

Of these chains of the Pakistani and Arab infidels

Oh my beloved Afghanistan
Outsiders may scar the landscape
But they shall never break our spirit and our pride!!!

*There are 500,000 amputees in Afghanistan with little or no access to wheelchairs.

Reprinted with the kind permission of Afghana Journal Online

Copyright © Qais Arsala 2003