A New Common Word
To the Wild West, that Roman dog,
To whom it seems only yesterday
That we triumphantly cried,
“Verily, God causes the sun to rise in the east;
cause it, then, to rise in the west!” [2:258]
But living in apocalyptic times,
Rise in the West it did. And it does.
… (history’s actors stanza)
On this grand stage,
where men and women merely play
Today, you stand — history’s actors,
we, the rest,
mere students of your realities.
Ce sont de vieux pays,
d’un vieux continent,
qui ont connu les guerres,
l’occupation, la barbarie
et qui vous le disent aujourd’hui:
Privilege confers opportunity and
opportunity confers responsibility.
The responsibility to uphold
liberty, equality, and fraternity
… (humble stanza)
O ye of little faith:
Heed our advice
Humble yourself for,
“Indeed, you will never
tear the earth apart,
and you will never
reach the mountains in height.” [17:37]
Have you the humility
To learn from our plight?
Or will you pave the road ahead,
unguided by experience,
suffer the slings (and arrows),
Then fall like Goliath?
… (trial stanza)
O ye of little faith,
We’ve been there, done that
Made mistakes, paid the price
And enfin, we’ve come to realize:
“When We bestow on him a favor from Us, he says,
‘I have only been given it because of my knowledge.’
Rather, it is a trial, but most of them do not know.” [39:49]
A trial, you see!
Ungodliness has cost us
Do not follow our lead.
…(acceleration stanza)
O ye of little faith,
heed the advice
of nations long gone, days gone by
For “in the stories of these men,
there is a lesson
for those who understand.” [12:111]
You may have the upper hand,
But it doesn’t last long
We were just there,
Enlightened and strong
And you pick up the pace,
Follow us to decline
For acceleration is a sign
of going downhill, not up.
…(first person stanza)
O ye of little faith,
Heed my advice
I am the East
To whom you used to pray
I am the City
You set out to Crusade
I am the Church
You filled one day
I am the sigh of the oppressed creature,
the heart of a heartless world,
the soul of soulless conditions
I am History,
With whom your fate
Intertwines
So learn from my story
“His story” he says — No;
Learn from history.
…(reconquest stanza)
O ye of little faith,
Don’t erase history—
It need not be winner-takes-all;
In the name of Who — or what
Do you conquer, or reconquer
the Mezquita-Catedral?
An annual celebration
Marking our fall
But what lessons can be drawn
from erased history?
…(strength stanza)
O ye of little faith,
Indeed we outdid you
In many a way:
“how many generations before them did We destroy
stronger in power than they?” [50:36]
Yet today we stand weak
Aside:
God, please give us strength!
For now in our weakness
We stand a test for the West [60:5]
How will they aspire to You
When your servants are a mess?
…(sin stanza)
O ye of little faith,
Can you look past Cardinal directions,
And recognize your Cardinal sins?
Don’t belittle your sins;
see Who you disobey!
For in the end,
“To Allah belongs the east and the west.
So wherever you might turn,
there is the Face of Allah.” [2:115]
— The Rest
