A Gift for Baghdad — Page 119
Reply to the Announcement & Letter 119 We have [already] been slain by the sword of our Beloved, And the wind has blown away our particles. But O chieftain of the people, where is your sword? A ravenous party has settled in your land. That party has assaulted you, sneaking up like a wolf; Their case was nothing short of a raging flood. Every misfortune has befallen you; There is nothing left in your homes but calamities. Yet, how many Muslims suffer the pangs of hunger, And spend their lives in hunger without repose? The ocean of knowledge knows the waves of my ocean, But you possess only stagnant water. I have composed my poem extemporaneously; Where lies its excellence if it was not improvised? So, take my advice kindly, like the noble ones; You have been offered a pure truth. If you still wish to engage me in combat, notwithstanding my sincere advice, Then know for sure that I am a stalwart champion.