Distant Memory

*The following poem is dedicated to Palmyra and its heroic retired antiquities chief Khaled al-Asaad who was beheaded by ISIL after being tortured for a month to get information about the city and its treasures, refusing to give any information to his captors and ultimately lost his life for it. May he always be remembered whilst his murderers be forgotten and lost in the sands…

Palmyra
Picture courtesy of dict.space.4goo.net

You may tear down walls
Destroy ancient sites
Commit disgraceful acts
Rape, murder and pillage

You may do all these things
And more in the name of Allah
In the name of Muhammad
But they would feel disgust at
What you do
What you stand for
What you are

You are monsters in their teachings
Evil incarnate
A disgrace to the Koran
To a peaceful belief

Palmyra may fall
But it can be rebuilt
Heads may be lost
But their memories
Shall not be forgotten

Khaled al-Asaad taken in 2002
Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

Yet you shall be when
All is done
Your terrorism and misguided
Beliefs shall be a distant memory
You will burn for an eternity
And suffer the full wrath of your god

There will be no forgiveness there
As there is on earth
No Mahdi for you who
serve evil only

You will be nothing more than a
Grain of sand in the wind
A distant long forgotten memory
Your passing unnoticed
Wiped from memory and history