For Ashraf Fayadh Poem by Raymond Farrell

Spare a moment of your time
To contemplate the fate
Of the Palestinian poet
Ashraf Fayadh
Recently sentenced to die
By a Saudi Arabian court
Vague surrealistic slob
In the form of poetry
May not mean much
And is not liable
To get you a death sentence
But words that are honest, direct and true
Can cost the poet
The ultimate price
Consider your good fortune
If you can write
What you wish
Without fear of reprisal
And realize that
As governments claiming
To protect their citizens from harm
Are slowly removing
Their rights under this guise
It may not be long
We will all
Need to weigh the cost
Of each and every syllable
We put down on paper.