Poem by Sadhar Kahn

This was published in the book STONES INTO SCHOOLS by Greg Mortenson.  The poet was a mujahedeen in Afghanistan.

 

You wonder why I sit,

Here on this rock,

By the side of the river,

Doing nothing?

There is so much work to be done for my people.

We have so little food,

We have so few jobs,

Our fields are in shambles,

And still there are land mines everywhere.

So I am here to listen to

The quiet,

The water,

And the singing trees.

This is the sound of peace

In the presence of Allah.

After thirty years as a mujahedeen,

I have grown old from fighting.

I resent the sounds of destruction.

I am so weary of war.