Me and My Muezzin
By Turlough
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Standing alone
As cold as the tons of steel
That carry me
This floating granary
A United Nations gift of guilt
For gaping mouths
On the bottom shelf
Of a bare-shelved continent
Gliding through still waters
The sweetness of the Bitter Lakes
As black as this Egyptian night
Tranquillity between two seas
Look out for danger, I'm told
Wishing for eyes more beady
Not your usual teenage symptom
Of body image insecurity
But I am safe
With my trusty walkie-talkie
And binoculars
The sixth best pair on the ship
Far behind my lonesome post
Polo necks with mugs of cocoa
Waiting for that alarm call
What if I don't call?
Only chattering teeth disturb the silence
And bow waves lapping on the shores
I sing The Rising of the Moon
But it doesn't
Yearning for that danger
Just a little to keep me awake
Perhaps an Arabian pirate ship
With a flask of tea
Imagine Haydar Ghazi
All flashing eyes and teeth
His bloody scimitar scythes
A great scarlet gash in the eastern sky
Reveals a mosque and sacred dome
Sudden silhouettes
Something to see at last
Good morning Sinai
From a minaret a muezzin’s call
A haunting song broadcast
On a mystical wavelength
Invites me to another world
Words I'll never understand
But a beckoning reminder
Of Angelus bells in my childhood
Enchantment chills me more
Daylight comes, brings horror
Manifestations of a recent war
Expose themselves on Suez banks
Rusty tanks and fighter jets
Dredged to clear the morbid depths
Fill gaps between village embers
People died here, families wept
Fleeing torrents of fear and hate
Saltwater wells in teenage eyes
Things they'd only ever seen
In cosy television lounges
Reality hitting hard and fast
In the time it took the sun to rise
On darkness that would always stay
I crave to go back to the dawn
It was beautiful then
Image:
Every image I use is from a photograph I have taken myself.
On this occasion - A couple of mosques I chanced upon near to the city of Yaz’d one morning in 2011 whilst on a group tour of Iran.
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Comments
We can and do stand alone.
We can and do stand alone. More is the pity when there is no pity. That's when the killings begin.
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Plus ca change (a phrase I've
Plus ca change (a phrase I've used more than once recently). Beautiful and very deserving of those cherries - thank you Turlough - and please write about your Iran trip. Not many people go on holiday to Iran!!!
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loved the images and meaning behind them
beautifully done from teen point of view
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You conjure the adventure,
You conjure the adventure, danger and determination to be committed to the job.
You certainly write some evocotive memories Turlough.
Jenny.
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"The sixth best pair on the
"The sixth best pair on the ship" - such precision :)
An evocative journey steeped in imagery. I too would love to read more about Iran. Adriotly done, sir.
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The last two lines catch the
The last two lines catch the contrast of delight in beauty, and the sadness of tragedy, hatred and damage. Rhiannon
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Great poem, with impressions
Great poem, with impressions of Egypt, and the Arab and muslim world, and memories of Arab and Israeli conflict! It is a shame they have not been able to find peace or fairness.
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