She told me then, "I wept and prayed."
For what? I asked. "A scented grave..."

Al-istiqamah is proud to publish the first in a series of exclusive poems written by brother Daniel Joseph Maldonado on the loss of his wife in war-torn Somalia. Daniel was arrested by the Kenyan military in January 2007 and handed over the US authorities. His wife Tamekia died of malaria near the Kenyan-Somalian border. In April 2007 he pleaded guilty to a charge of receiving training from a foreign terrorist organization and was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in June.

 

Click here to view a scanned image of the original poem

'Her Prayer'

On and on

the question so plagues

the mind of her

whose descendants were slaves.

From where am I?

What tribe, what name?

I wish to go

from whence they came.

And so she went

and spent her days.

Her soul content

and meant to stay.

She told me then:

"I wept and prayed"

For what? I asked.

"A scented grave..."

Source: al-istiqamah.com

Note: Please remember Daniel and his children in your dua's (supplications). Read Daniel's exclusive first-hand account of his arrest and imprisonment here.