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Your letters - posted August 2, 2005

Posted in Q & A on Aug 02, 2005

Posted August 2, 2005

After all the heavy terrorism talk of the past month, a lot of you have asked for something lighter. How about poetry from fans and foes alike? What you’re about to read, I confess, ain’t all light. But hey, it rhymes. Sometimes.

ABOUT IRSHAD
By Anonymous

“Roses are Red
Her Blood is redder
God wants her DEAD
And we promise Him We’ll get her”

Irshad replies:

I’ve just chatted with God
He doesn’t recall asking you to murder
Maybe you misheard Him
When He said: “Hmmm… Hurt her?”

“No, boys,” He clarified
“That’s not the way
Think and engage
Or don’t bother to pray”

“For I gave my creatures a gift
It’s called free will
You might hate how it’s used,
But it’s not yours to kill.”

Anonymous replies:

“So when my brothers explode themselves
They’re using free will
You can speak out against it
But remember, it’s not yours to kill.
Gotcha bitch.”

Irshad replies:

Gotcha? Not quite
You forget one fact:
When your ‘brothers’ detonate
They kill others with that

If they harmed only themselves,
I wouldn’t complain
But they steal free will from many more,
That’s a whole different game.

It’s clear they are thieves
I must ask: Who are you?
An accomplice? A Muslim?
Is there no difference ‘tween the two?

Anonymous replies:

“Nice poem, whore.
But it won’t Save you
Only God will
And guess what? He HATES you”

Irshad replies:

Is it God who hates me?
Or is it you?
Just because roses are red
Doesn’t mean violets are too…

(To be continued if anonymous writes me back.)
ISAAC AND ISHMAEL: DEAR BROTHERS OF A DIFFERENT MOTHER
By Ahmed

Am I Muslim? Maybe.
Did I grow up in Egypt? Ok, gladly.
But can I say something?
Just listen up and tell me what’s crazy:

Please God, all knowing, all wise
Why did you give us truths disguised?
Is it to try and open our eyes
To the problems that lie inside?

Lessons you have to learn with time
And scriptures take on new meanings, as we get old
And habitually kinder to different kinds
Like innocent, ignorant kinder
Or children in German, if you don’t mind
Admitting your ignorance, kindling a light
To different minds’ points of view

God knew
The harm we were going to bring upon one another
With all this hating and killing each other
So he decided to make Abraham kill his own son
Better than to let us try and solve the problems alone
But an angel’s voice stopped him before the sacrifice was done

What Angel is mighty and powerful on Earth?
Satan?
I’m not certain, just thinking
Satan decided it wasn’t right
He had to intervene
Profit off of future conflict
Way back we lacked the intellectual might
To do other-wise
Win-win compromises

So generation upon generation of tradition
Got us separated to a point of not recognizing
Our own brother from a different mother
We’re caught up in fighting over stupid things
Suffering leads to understanding
Yet hate brings blinders down on wisdom
We’re completely missing solutions

At the moment of confrontation
Our hearts get started, pounding with conflict
We’re steaming as we fiend to get even
Our righteousness rationalizes things for us

Even until they end up killing both my cousins
I’m wishing he had done it
And killed his own son, Shit!
I said it
Gotten rid of either Godfather of the problem
This is messed up, this is wrong
God tried to save us from the hard way
Harm’s way
But we decided we’re better off if he had done it
We wouldn’t have to get along alright
With a different kind
There would be nothing but our right

They’re sending my cousins to burials, the world isn’t doing well
What might compel a man to give orders that kill a little girl?
We committed the crime that God didn’t even try
And now the blood is on our hands
As we keep sacrificing our lambs

He tried to show us how faith can be as strong as it is weird and strange
And make people deranged

People, please quit slaying, please people quit slaying
We all kneel and pray ‘n we all can learn maybe
To criticize our own selves, find health, move to understanding
We’re simply getting angrier over land
And
Our politicians are scandalous
And they got nothing else
More powerful
To use
To do
Than what THEY want to

Let’s grow and learn, let’s try to heal what’s been done
Give me psychologists instead of warrior sons
Let’s fix the problem, it’s only fair
That we move on with a new ethic:
CARE.
INTERSTITIONAL IDENTITY
By Adrienne

We find in our minds
the inclination to categorize
wise though we may be
not wise enough to see
the layering of labels, colors,
instinctively we separate and generate
groups into which pour our fears
definitive ideas, frozen on ice
of determined rigidity

And so, when bounding past us
leaping gracefully round the corner
of our mind’s eye is one who
does not fit squarely into
such a small narrow space,
refuses to yield to sharp
Corners, preferring rounded
curved borders, or pastel upon oil,
paper with torn edges, high places
without a ladder, we squirm in our
seats, sit upright and look away
or press still further into the clay.

I cannot yield to such pressure,
will not swim shallowly, so follow
me as I dive down deep, and defy
your description.

ODE TO IRSHAD
(Hand-written and given to me during a book-signing in London, UK)

Irshad Manji
Knows her kanji
From her katakana
She’d ne’er confuse
Sikhs with Hindus
Or plantains with banana

Her erudition knows no bounds
Her wisdom scarce a limit
But if all this praise
Too fawning sounds
Then I’ll be prompt,
And trim it!