A Poem For Sister Marwa El-Sherbini, Ph D

"A Woman of the Cloth"

That was me
at the point of the knife


That was me
who gagged for breath


That was me
whose face froze, flat


That was me
with no expression


That was me
silenced for wearing cloth


That was me
stabbed in the liver


That was me
lying comatose and catatonic


That was my
little orphan watching


That was my
heart that was halted


mid-pulse and my hand
that was cut off


for reaching out
towards my Lord


That is my
baby who cries


and I who can no
longer comfort him


That was my protector
who was shot down


and our love's blood
that stained the floor


on which the Kuffar
boldly came and stood


Ya Rab, Ya Rab, Ya Rab
My Lord, My Lord, My Lord