Hussain

 By: Sister Fiddha 

Your skin like spun silk

Mesmerises me

The rosy lips of Fatima

So sweet to touch

Pursed in thought

Transfix me

What to say of the blush on your cheeks

Like the purest virgin

You enchant me

Oh Ahmed's eyes

Fatima's luscious lashes

Cover your face with your cloak

Like Joseph, Your beauty is too much for us to bear

When women saw him they cut themselves

Thinking him an angel

But oh if they saw you

A mere cut would not have done you justice

Oh chief I give you my heart

Between your two fingers

Move it whichever way you wish
Oh beloved of Muhammad
Oh light of Fatima
Eulogies fall short of you
Descriptions do not reach you
How to describe your soft laughter
Like water flowing in a stream
A subtle affair
And the sweetness of your smile
My beloved Ahmad was pleased
When you dodged him smilingly
As he rushed to you
Those were the best days of your house
When you were young-
No Saqifa, or Karbala

To stain the memory of the
Luscious innocence
The Male houri likeness
But we cannot speak of those days anymore
Only when we meet at Kausar may we resume such an affair
For now the streams will flow throughout
The generations of your lovers
Father to son to grandson
No more dancing gaily at your memory
The entrancing image of you
All we see is a body slashed
A Sajdah done on a bed of arrows
A head on a spear
A desperate man
Calling for assistance
Where was the chief of the youths of paradise
Where was the beating heart of Muhammad
Oh memories do not taunt me of the forgotten years
All that is past
What remains is your slaughter
Your silken skin torn to shreds
Your houri eyes gorged
Your lips which the angels kissed
On the plate of your killer
Tears blear the image of you
So we cannot envisage that glowing face
As I look up I see a painting
It falls short of you
But it is all we have as a memory -
Until we meet at the fountain of the lovers
Where we will drink from your silken hands.