The day broke on this fateful date like gravestones pushed asunder <br />Transcontinental wagons hooted their humming blared thunder <br />The Faithful six million alerted to the confrontation <br />Made their way in unison to the muezzin’s call yonder <br /> <br />The lake’s squadrons of Bernache geese trumpeted in response <br />Took to swooping in formation along national routes dense <br />The Faithful abandoned their vehicles and bikes at will <br />Once they converged on the citadel at siege with incense <br /> <br />Even pole stars at noon hiding behind clouds claimed no rights <br />Congregations of men and women choked the portals’ lights <br />More than plain portables buzzed during sacred ablutions <br />Plane loads from Maghreb to Middle East had Orly in their sights <br /> <br />Even as the last words of chour sermon filled Faithful ears <br />Jellaba white under black overcoat chador black in tears <br />Strode out to form thick walls of human flesh like parapets <br />Sandwiched between Robo-Cops and theirs furies of chanting Dears <br /> <br />They came by plane by cars by buses till arteries choked <br />Till crammed railroads and metros screeched under loads unlocked <br />Clutching Hadith books they sang or murmured psalms and sayings <br />Pilgrims treading on well-worn Compostela routes unhooked<br /><br />T (no first name) Wignesan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-ruba-iyat-of-creteil-lake-part-twenty-two/
