Kabul
Update
National
Public Radio, All Things Considered, January 24, 2002:
"The
bird markets which were banned under the Taliban have reopened again."
- Noah Adams, NPR News
"Afgans
find a real joy in seeing birds; it's one of the few joys that Afgans
seem to have."
- Ernie Torriero, Chicago Tribune from Kabul Afganistan
The bird
markets
are once again
beginning to appear.
A sweet song
on feathered wing
greets the longing ear
which for so many years
has suffered
with the pain and noise of war.
Even the singing call to prayer
has not soothed
the wounded hearts
whose shattered dreams
and youthful joys
lie in ruin and in fear.
The wings
and songs
so sweet and delicate
weave into lives so desperate
melodies and memories dear
of a time before screams and hunger
a time before wings and bombs
a time not remembered
by the young
whose entire lives
have been a war
devoid of beauty
devoid of culture.
These songbird
emissaries
remind of nature
messengers of the God
missing in the prayer
forced out by rituals and laws
of men hungry for power.
Sweet songs are food
for starving souls
nourishing more
than repeated prayers
or bowls filled with donated grain
that feed the body
but can't ease the pain
of broken lives
or broken pride
of cruel and needless sufferings.
©
Richard Sidy 2002
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