Rap Ii Thunders Poem by Sadiqullah Khan

There was a beautiful valley, the Buddha had chosen that for preaching
And stupas, the valley had cedar trees, of dark green, people lived soul to soul
There was a small city in it, beautiful girls would live enchanting, the lark would sing
songs of lamentations, there was happiness prevailing in the populace
People visited for refreshment, the mighty river in the centre of the valley
Away from the great game, the mighty dollar, some preachers established their bases,
And one day a convoy of trucks carrying troops with large huge guns
Invaded the valley, the statue of the Buddha seeing it all was but silent, the houses raided, in search of terrorists, the airplanes roared in the sky, pounded villages, the people left the houses dear, in search of refuge, in a nearby school for girls, some terrorists threw hand grenades, and many were killed, the tomb of the saint nearby, the sanctuary of solace, now deserted, the cedar trees lost their green, the beautiful eyes of the pretty girls now see through tears, the loss of the beloved homes of theirs, the hopes now pinned on some military general, in his metal shoes, gun on the back, beggars have become the residents of the valley, the mighty dollar in the great game, a legacy of the past, of the cold war, the valley now is a scene of hell
11/9/2008