Another Poem from Guantanamo: My Heart Was Wounded by the Strangeness

My Heart Was Wounded by the Strangeness
by Abdulla Majid Al Noaimi, The Captive of Dignity

This is a poem I have written about my brother and friend Salman al Khalifa at the Guantanamo prison, after a long separation between us. The Americans were keen on keeping us apart. Four months later, he sent verbal greetings with the brothers, in which he said, “May peace, God’s Mercy and Blessings be upon you. I miss you a great deal and I’m trying to write a poem for you.” I felt guilty about this.  Will he write a poem for me when he is no poet, while I, who claim to be a poet, have written nothing for him?

I then said, “If he writes a poem for me before I write a poem for him, I deserve to be scoffed at until the Day of Judgement.” So I set out to write, but could not concentrate on the poem. I put writing aside and turned to memorizing the Qu’ran. But then I could not concentrate on the Qu’ran because my mind was occupied by the poem. With my mind divided, time began to pass. And then I was inspired:

My heart was wounded by the strangeness.
Now poetry has rolled up his sleeves, showing a long arm.

Time passes. The hands of the clock deceive us.
Time is precious and the minutes are limited.

Do not blame the poet who comes to your land,
Inspired, arranging rhymes.

Oh brother, who need not be named, I send you
My gift of greetings. I send heavily falling rains

To quench your thirst and show my gratitude.
My poem will comfort you and ease your burdens.

If you blame yourself, my poem will appease you.
My mind is not heavy with animosity.

I will be satisfied once you are free, and I will embrace you.
There is nothing, brother, like a mild agreeable temper.

I will offer advice out of pure cordiality–
Advice from one who has experienced the impossible:

You will not gain everything your soul desires;
Some things will come to you, but others will not.

Forget what people say and be satisfied with who you are.
Patience, the bony animal, will lead you to meat.

Be generous to others, brother,
And leave behind your avaricious spirit.

If your brother has hurt you,
Recall his god deeds and the pain will go away.

Hide the sadness of your heart as in a valley.
Make it your captive; if released, it will make you suffer.

No matter how long our separation lasts, I will not forget you.
What is hidden in our hearts is expressed in my words.

You are precious and grow more precious.
He who has companions like you will never lose dignity.

I hope that your nights will always be cheerful.
May the Lord compensate you for what you have lost.

I ask the Merciful One to guide you to peace.
May the Lord keep you fast on the path of virtue.

I conclude my poem by invoking prayers and blessings,
On the messenger of Allah, Ahmed, his chosen one.

According to his biography in Poems from Guantanamo: the detainees speak (Universty of Iowa Press, Marc Kalkoff editor), Abdulla Majid al Noaimi is a twenty-four-year-old citizen of Bahrain who attended Old Dominion University in Virginia, but returned home after a year, heart broken over breaking up with his girlfriend. Shortly after beginning his electrical engineering studies in the UNited Arab Emirates in 2001, Noaimi traveled to Afghanistan to find a family member who had not been heard from in some time. After an unsuccessful search, he made his way to the Pakistani border and asked to be taken to the Bahrain embassy. Instead Pakistani authorities turned him over to the US military. He was detained in Kandahar, Afganistan, for about five months before being transferred to Guantanamo. He was released from the prison camp in November 2005. Here’s his wikipedia entry.

Here is another poem by the same author as well as additional information about the book.  I will be presenting both poems as well as participating in choral readings of two others from 7-9pm, on Monday, April 13, at A Place of Peace in Ventura. Come hear poems by Guantanamo detainees presented by poets, artists, peace activists, and performers. Organized by Grant Marcus and co-sponsored by a number of peace groups including Veterans for Peace, the event is a $10 “love” donation and will include a brief contextualization by lawyers from the Center for Constitutional Rights which represented many of the Guantanamo detainees.

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