After You

Again He looked at the horizon The swords were waiting for him It was the last night that the moon Could see his shining face like a dream He gathered all his companions and said I don’t know better friends than you But Anyone staying here won’t be alive tomorrow You can save yourself tonight and go A deep silence filled the air Until his brother Abbas said After you We just can’t live After you We just can’t breathe After you Again he walked around the tents He was worried about his little children In a barren desert no food no water under a siege that became harder and harder He gathered all his companions and said I don’t know better friends than you But Anyone staying here won’t be alive tomorrow You can save yourself tonight and go A deep silence filled the air Until his brother Abbas said After you We just can’t live After you We just can’t breathe After you The next afternoon, only Hussein and the children remained He mounted his horse and rode into the battlefield Looking at his comrades’ bodies on the hot, desert ground He remembered their last words After you We just can’t live After you We just can’t breathe After you Again He looked at the horizon His children were waiting for him…