*The serf that toils for a River to an uncertain Sea.*– A Poem

By Tauriq Jenkins

There is a Minaret in my mind
But I cannot say the word

There is a River in my mind
But cannot connect it to the sea.

How can a River not flow to the sea? I might ask my father. From his place, he might offer only his eyes, and a wry grin.

There is a minaret in my mind
But for now, will not say the word,

For the world in all it’s folly
feels the whip of it’s deep
double standard of hypocrisy.

Where words are algorithms that compute a numbers game of “lebensraum’ in the West Bank, and a iron weaponed experiment in Gaza

Where solace now is only in the mind, as every metre is biometrical and reduced to asphalt.

Like the City’s asphalt parking lot of a Sacred terriain at the Two Rivers.

Yet, this minaret in my mind.

It sees valleys, trees, and is closest to heaven that I will ever be.

I was once, in that rare position, like a banned prophet, afforded the chance to bow and kneel in the minaret of my mind.

I chose not to.

My brother Wesam who is from the land, could not join me in prayer.

I felt, and asked, why and how can I be close to heaven when my indigenous brother cannot stand next to me.

In tears, I declined and stayed in Ramallah to read a book, one of many, that word for word only spoke of the deepest betrayal of an occupation.

There is a minaret in my mind, and til I am blind, dead or beyond another life perhaps of none more or many,

my heart, a sure and solid part of it, is there within it’s dome shaped golden exterior.

And with the surly patience of the serf,

I will await, with my tiny contribution, like a single word that would have found its way in a Zarathustran chant, the toppling of thrones, of towers,
to then attend to its carpet,

The Minaret of my mind,

shining everlasting.

Tauriq Jenkins

San and Khoi Leader

Human right defender for San and Khoi Centre

African Studies and Linguistics

Dedicated to Al Aqsa Mosque and the brave work of the international rights organisation Al Haq whose comrades face this contradiction on daily a basis. And to the comrades who have that Minaret in their minds.