I am Atef

He burned through the desert ~ hate and rage
Sight searching and hoping for respite
Hearts vitriol grasping for life,
And no purchase for scalded hands
Screaming down the barren hills

                    “I am Atef ! I am Atef ! I am…

“…bereft! In an ocean burning white
Where is paradise? My reward?
Pools to cool my blackened feet?
Where the virgins to attend my whims?”
Now screaming vast in a fiery demesne

                    “I am Atef ! I am Atef ! I am…

“…the sun! So hot! Might this be that star?
Where is God? Where Allah the merciful?
I am Mohammed Atef! Martyred son of God!
Surely Lord, Thou hast made a mistake!
I am burning pitch, embers cracking with pain!


                    I am Atef ! I am Atef ! I am…”



ELAshley
17 November 2001
In memory of Mohammed Atef, Osama bin Ladin’s chief of security. Atef is credited with training the terrorists responsible for 9-11, and was killed during a US bombardment in Afghanistan on November 16, 2001 during the Holy month of Ramadan.