What Happened To The Sage Poem by Adnan al-Sayegh

As he was delivering his lecture..
In the crowded hall
They were there
Patterning his corpse after the latest intelligence reports
And leaving the remnants of his blood
in the family refrigerator.
When he left the podium
Amid the music of applause
He groped for his neck
And found nothing but a terrible emptiness
Then a long gash, still damp above his collar.
He raced in a panic
toward the audience..
Calling for help from the deserted chairs …
Stumbling on the chuckles of echoes.
No one
But an old watchman
Went on
About a crazy man
He had seen - just a while ago -
Searching …
Between the seats
for his severed head.