Abdul Wahab Al-Bayati Festival
No, you did not die...
For the name lives on among us
Majestic... traversing all places
A select group shone in Sydney
Granting you the glories of time and space
Abdul Wahab, our beloved, in exile
Gifted you a verdant heart to dwell within us
Who else but you,
Will generations recite his poetry
So that beautiful words may fill our eyes?
Poisonous tongues hissed near you
But you silenced them with noble character
And the envious inflicted upon you
A painful injustice
But you defeated them...
And exposed the face of the cursed
Sick... but who can cure their malice?
The sun of believing minds
Has disbelieved in them
Each one desires primacy as a centre
Seeking to ride our people like horses
The arrogant race towards positions
From the abundance of greed,
They have become putrid
He gives you a smile...
If you raise his banner
And if you refuse...
Then from him comes devilry
O "Ibn al-Bayati"...
Do not ask about the possible
Your eloquent poems are not possible
You are the great, the creative,
The noble, the strong
If you do not believe my cry... look here
They came to you today,
Bless their gathering
Free as their declared intentions
Gaze upon them...
Their foreheads are the mountain peaks
And the lofty brow refuses domination
Like orphans I came to weep for a companion
O tear of poetry, be Sadness
I burn on the embers of love
This is me...
Do you still remember who I am?
**
