This poem is based upon a post from my friend Mirella ( http://mirellamccracken.wordpress.com/).
he lie
on the floor
a caged fallen angel
his crime
quite simply
refusal to deny hope
but that was cause enough
for the smoke of unreason
to rise from the depths of the earth
and they were as locusts upon him
grinding away at his soul
beating his dreams from his backside
breaking the legs of his resistance
leaving him as a prayer rug on the floor
to be tread upon
as if humanity’s grand mosque
were not also a place of prayer
so
no longer
do they have the seal of god
in their forehead
it has long been removed
so in their last days
the locusts shall come
with the scorpion’s sting
they will be tormented
but not killed
they will not find death
but they
shall
seek it
but death
shall flee from them
and they
shall know
his pain
Read Between the Minds 
You have painted a brutal image here, wonderful and inspiring writing. Thank you, and good night.
I read this piece, and then seeing the reference to Mirella McCracken’s article, I read her story and came back to read this again.
Your words honor the man who dared to “refuse to deny hope” and they stand with a poet’s righteous anger for the crimes committed against him.
Your promise that the perpetrators of his torture will receive divine retribution reveals a sensitive heart, washing the wounds of the woman who witnessed this atrocity.
Without reading Mirella’s story, much of the power of this piece is lost. With her story, it is a fine and poignant testimony of the best and the worst that human beings are capable of.
The photograph portrays so well the multifaceted images we hold of God’s role in this human tragedy.
Thanks Cindy for reading the story and thanks to Charlie for extending my voice and the voice of victims of torture.
Mirella
a painful end. Death will not come soon enough
the cry of desperation will be profound
as this poem – profound
to me, this felt like story of all those held captive (in the name of religion, or otherwise), and tormented till the point death seems sweeter and more preferable than the miserable wretched life (or whatever’s left of it).
A very powerful poem, with some very strong heartfelt emotion as well…
great work, as ever !!
Waw, this is amazing Charles!!!
I love the words you use
“grinding away at his soul
beating his dreams from his backside
breaking the legs of his resistance”
I wish AbdulRahman can read it right now…
Thanks for putting a link to my blog and for telling John about my post, I am happy to discover his blog too:)
Thank you Charlie for the beautiful humane poem!
Thank you
Mirella
your poem and the story behind it from your friend, both leave me speechless. i am unable to write anything that begins to even hint at the fury and outrage flowing through my veins. but i had to tell you how deeply it reached me.
Simply amazing.
I’m like a bee drawn to a flower….you’re just getting better and better. So inspiring. Thank you 🙂
After reading both your piece and Mirella’s tragic story, I hope that by bringing AbdulRahman’s suffering to light, that wherever he is now, the spirit of peace has gathered him and his family in one place and that they will know comfort for all their days and honor for all their suffering. I believe this to be true. As for the inflictors of that suffering, I hope they can ask for forgiveness and one day be forgiven, though yes, I believe they will suffer greatly…far too many of these sad stories…my heart aches…Heartspell
I really enjoyed this. It’s very forceful. I felt as if I were on the losing side of a fight after reading it.
We have become the fears from which we flee. Good read.
Strong, poignant imagery… the image of being left like a prayer rug on the floor is particularly striking.
A powerful poem. I read it first, then Mirella’s story. Thank you both for drawing attention to victims of torture.
This is a wonderful poetic interpretation of Mirella’s tragic story. Thank you for writing it.
What a powerful poem. Tremendous.