Welcome Home Trilogy

A Trilogy Project – that ended up as perpetual work in progress only to be recovered fortuitously after almost seven years from archives saved on an old pen drive!

Introduction

With the proverbial ‘other’ within the socio-political divide along the national context in my mind, some time last March, 2016 I began writing the verses under the heading of Welcome Home. However, the muse was not cooperative as the current work may perhaps demonstrate. Certainly the phenomenon of the writer’s block was under control and I was apparently a helpless victim of. I failed to shape the verses to my liking and simply succumbed to the dictates of the writer’s block and to the treachery or was it the displeasure of the so called poetic-inspiring goddess of old. The work remained as is. But I still had the urge to write and so the “You and Us” verses were born only to stop short of twenty lines or even less. Then there was no escape but to have a little face to face encounter with my familiar foe – The Writer’s Block. That confrontation in turn produced the poem entitled – The Writer’s Block.

Now that all of the three poems were under the mercy of lady muse and the total control of my familiar foe, they all were relegated to freeze on the hard disk just to stare at me whenever I opened my word processor without any progress or addition to them as if destined to remain as a perpetual work in progress, so to speak. Until a few days ago a good friend of mine called up to follow up a poem of mine in the Arabic language that he insisted to listen to over the phone. That was done on the spot, well and good. And as usual generous as he is he lauded and commended but it was not mission accomplished yet. He incessantly asked for more. Reluctantly I said that there were some projects that were adamantly refusing completion and then shared the work at hand with him. No sooner than I read the unfinished poems over the phone for him, he literally said that God-given talents must be exploited to their fullest and must be shared with the creation and not to be buried as certain ancient cultures were abhorrently burying their young living daughters alive! “Haram!” he exclaimed. And when I responded with the proverbial statement that beauty was in the eyes of the beholder and that only the good see the goodness etc. etc. as the saying goes; he abruptly dismissed my remarks adding that if such a work is not shared and published right away as is at awate.com he would keep on bugging me to do so until doomsday. As if he is chosen to be a part in my triangular relationship with this website, this time too he said that he will be literally running after me with a chubby Mokhos in his grasp until these poems are published as they are at awate.com. True to his threats he has being prodding me ever since, to publish the work. In compliance to his wishes and at the risk of me shouldering the responsibility of suffering the reproaches of my perfectionist nature I am obliging to do the same if the website sees the work worth publishing. Although deep in my heart I still believe the stanzas need further chiseling to fill in the grooves here and there and more sandpaper management and of course a lot of polishing. I hope it meets your liking, Dear Reader.

And now as 2022 has begun its breath the work remains as is when the original Desk Top is no longer here but strangely this pen drive popped up the poems – maybe it is time for them to see the light.

Welcome Home!

In plain language in layman’s term and no complication
In simple English, so easy and far from sophistication
Here are some honest words for your kind attention
You who’ve worshiped all despots without distinction
Raising flags of every occupier of our beloved nation
Offering your very own compatriots for extermination
As sacrificial lambs without any remorse or consternation
Listen to me. Can you feel my broken-heart’s pain?

Can you imagine the suffering you put me through in vain?
When out of ignorance you succumbed to the bigots’ chain
Who made you believe and told you again and again
That I am your avowed enemy to disparage and disdain
All the time, and if you can get rid of and never refrain
To expropriate, exile, kill and dump him down the drain
Oh! My Dear Compatriot can you feel my agony, my pain?

It is not now that the dictator is showing the obscene
That monster is as naked now as he has always been
It is only you; it’s your own eyes that were not seeing
The blood has been flooding; you just began lip-tasting
Imprisonments, exterminations, elimination and killing
Expropriation, exploitation, extortion and land grabbing
Are the order of the day here Pal, but you were sleeping
Assuming immunity as if dictators saw you it deserving
Just a matter of time but your turn, surely was coming
For ‘what goes around must come around’ again running

You cared not to see when the poor souls were boiling
The inferno has been burning innocents and churning
You only saw it now as your skin was remotely scalding
Strange, one might say but no, not for the observing
Certainly not for those who have been long-suffering
From your evil machinations and plots never ending
Not for us, we know you inside-out, no need for hiding

Any way with our ever gracious hearts good wishing
We can’t help but hope this be real and not dreaming
That you finally, at least for now you are awakening
Good for you, as you are now recovering some feeling
Feelings that may lead us regain our health and healing
Though a bit late, welcome home, thank you for coming

Again welcome home, how we hope you are coming clean
We hope and pray that this is not deception and cheating
That old familiar game of which you are experts at – faking
Showing the good face while the heart demands cleaning

Then let us let it out all and let us all listen by way of healing
Not for provocation and not as revenge and not name-calling
But only just for voicing out our hurts and solely for revealing
The injustices, the pain we long suffered without complaining
Perhaps it may resonate over there and kick-start remedying

So till our version of Truth and Reconciliation is up and running
Let poetry be the vehicle for love, harmony and understanding
Even at the expense of some feathers being ruffled in so doing
Just as mothers do love and care even when they are weaning
And as when surgeons resort to the scalpel just for life saving

****
Welcome home, better late than never
Covered by the shield of every colonizer
As the pampered lackey of the imposter
Beneath the smelly feet of the dictator
Conceited by the might and glory of the invader
You lived all your life in an elusive glamour
Ill-gotten wealth mixed with blood and butter
Bloody money bitter than mustard and ginger

In sync and in cahoots with the murdering monster
Kissing and licking the shoes of your unholy emperor
Worshiping him ever and currying his favor
Obediently following his all and every order
Mercilessly, shamelessly with ardent fervor
Perpetuating his inequities and immense torture
Executing harshly his terror and horrible horror
On your very own brother, kin and next neighbor
On your sister reeling under the heels of the traitor

You were the ally even the executioner
The ugly hand the tool and the enforcer
That sowed injustice, havoc and disorder
Actually you’re indeed the very malefactor
Not just an agent or a mere foot soldier
Nor another minion serving the dictator
You were and remain to be the evil doer

Eagerly unabashed mimicking your mentor
Fulfilling the desires of his rapacious nature
You burned all living in every niche and corner
Under the protection of the nasty warmonger
You filled the peaceful land with blood and terror
You scorched every green, uprooted the flower
Lifeless became the land and barren no wonder
When you lost your humanity to brute power

In the wings and protection of the oppressor
You chose and courted disgrace and dishonor
Under the swords’ shade of the gladiator
Covered by the shield of every colonizer
You shamelessly assailed every patriotic warrior
Blind to the injustices befalling your neighbor

Now, all of a sudden with no sense and no humour
Having tasted merely a sip from the cup of dishonour
That selfsame cup of which you were the distributor
How come now you dare scream to the loudspeaker
Saying amazedly “How bare naked is the emperor!
Our Lord! Have mercy, save us from this monster!”
Without scruples or regret you now proclaim “dictator”
With no speck or shred of shame you shout “gladiator”
With a brazen face you dare claim to be the liberator!
Welcome home any way it is far better now than later

Welcome home; with you coming we’re even stronger
Remember we’re a family and that you are a member
But a bit of humility, you’re a member and not the leader
Welcome home with no vengeance let’s work together
But remember our collective memory is as sharp as ever
No more fooling, for we know the road and the partner
Welcome home, we aren’t naive you need no reminder
We’re just gracious people choosing to forget and ignore
The injustices of those seeking forgiveness in our door
Properly acknowledging their misdeeds willing to bear
Responsibility for all that happened as you are aware
Welcome home, we’ve reserves of compassion to spare
Leopards cannot change their spots we are fully aware
And the Ethiopian try as may can’t make his skin fairer
As the bible states unequivocally if you can remember
Yet we are still hopeful, hoping against hope we will not despair
Miracles do happen sometimes so maybe it’s fair to say fair
That you will soon change as we have no time to spare
Sink or sale we all are in the same boat, that’s the truth for us to share
Welcome home, we’ve reserves of compassion to spare
Yes we are gracious but dare you think we are fools, dare not dare
Welcome home, we’ve reserves of compassion to spare

Image by Кирилл Богомазов from Pixabay