Ninth Anniversary Of Khaled Al-Asaad Poem by Mohammad Yousef

Today, the calendar whispers,
an echo of memory,
the ninth year of absence,
where time drapes its heavy cloak
over the shoulders of the living.

Yasser Al-Hafez's voice,
a gentle tremor in the evening air,
pierces the stillness,
"Your name is linked to Khaled—
I don't know why you came to my mind."
A spark ignites in the dusk,
the bond of shared grief,
the threads of remembrance
woven into the fabric of our souls.

Condolences, he offers,
from the depths of his heart,
but what is loss if not a mirror,
reflecting our own orphaned spirits?
"Why don't we shed two tears, " I muse,
"for those who will depart tomorrow? "
As Mahmoud Darwish once spoke,
the love story of existence unfolds,
where absence is the ink
with which we write our lives.

Here, in the quiet of the evening,
we drink from the well of sorrow,
a toast to the martyrs,
to Khaled, who stood tall,
unbroken by the weight of tyranny,
whose spirit dances in the dust
of a land that remembers.

We are wanderers,
thousands of miles from home,
yet every tear we shed
is a step toward reclaiming,
a tribute to the brave souls
who dared to dream,
who painted their hopes
against the canvas of despair.

As the sun dips low,
casting long shadows,
I think of the stories unsung,
the voices silenced,
the laughter stilled,
and in this sacred silence,
we become the bearers of memory,
the custodians of love,
the guardians of the flickering flame
that Khaled ignited.

In the heart of darkness,
we find the light,
the flicker of resilience,
the promise of tomorrow,
an ode to the departed,
for in every heartbeat,
in every whispered name,
we live on,
a testament to their courage,
the love story of humanity,
woven through loss,
and stitched with hope.

So let us gather our tears,
let us cradle our sorrow,
and together, my friend,
let us offer our condolences,
not just for Khaled,
but for the world that remains,
for the lives yet to be lived,
and the dreams yet to be born—
in the tapestry of time,
we are all threads,
intertwined in this grand design,
where love conquers death,
and memory forever reigns.