Holding My Breath

I’m breathing/not-breathing again

Into our wires seeps the mark of Cain

Even though I’ve seen this before,

The fury, the bodies on the floor

The fist and the flick of flame

Leaching colour then jumping the frame.

I’m still lung sore, knuckles stiff,

Flooding with what-about and what-if;

This is the age of rage, where Youth is cast

Ruined into fjords, with skylines glassed

And well-reasoned loosing of the feral free

While we sit like a skein of sinew coiled to flee.

But I’m holding, lock jawed, asking for counsel

How long, Saqi, before I bang the Earth’s shell?

By Ali. A.Naqvi

Notes:

This was in response to my friend, Yasmeen Fatima, and comment “anyone else holding their breath?” when the Norwegian killer Brievik was on his rampage as initially people were assuming it was Islam related. This struck me a constant condition for most people these days. The events in London have added to this tension.

The last two lines are based on Psalm 13:2 which I came across when meditating on this and also Al Quran Surah 99:3 which is also referred to as Al Zalzalah (The Earthquake).