I think there’s a
language barrier,
between Him and I.
How can
He understand
my butchered
Arabic? Mis-
communication misled
Ibrahim, to try
and sacrifice
Ismail on the rock.
Or was it Isaac?
I don’t remember
the verse, I thump
the rhythm
with my tongue, dis-
chord reverberates
to replicate
some resonance—
and play the song,
strung by cursive
threads on a page,
black and white
like infidel and believer,
but when I read out
loud, the more
I confuse:
مُسْلِمِيْنَ and مُشْرِكِيْنَ.*
*old Arabic; مُشْرِكِيْنَ [mush-ri-kiin] heathen / مُسْلِمِيْنَ [mus-li-miin] one who submits.
———
TEXT:
FARAH YAHYA
MALAYSIA