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Our Hearts Are Calling
Our hearts are calling out to us,
into the dark and maddening night.
Our hearts are calling out to us,
to seize our hands and lead us right.
Too blinded are we by the glare,
of power, money, war and fame?
Yet with perverse and blinded eyes,
we ignore poverty and pain.
We put a price on everything,
the land, the trees, the wind, the seas,
And if our wretched claws could grasp,
we’d even steal the summer breeze.
The oil comes forth and soils the ground,
and stains our hearts with equal share,
The stench of what our hands have wrought
reveals a soul that’s dark and bare.
Yet, will we sit and fester here,
or shall we rise and fight the beast.
To storm the tyrant’s barricades,
to crash his filthy bloodlust feast.
Defending those who’ve lost all hope,
who live in darkness and despair.
To let them know another way,
a life defined by love and care.
A life defined by servitude,
to God, to neighbor, kith and kin.
A life defined by gratitude,
with dignity the prize to win.
Can we all make it to that place
and sacrifice so very much
of what the world has made us all;
and cast away the crippling crutch?
The crutch of there’s no other way
than what before our eyes we see.
The crutch of there’s no other choice
Devil’s checkmate, fait accompli !
Have we attained to history’s end,
Oppressor trampling on oppressed?
Have we become so sinister
that there’s no wrong we can redress?
So will we listen to our hearts,
and will we heed their desperate call,
to lead our brothers to the light,
or deeper into darkness crawl?
Imam Zaid Shakir
Where I'm Coming From
The past year has been a trying one for Muslims in the United States. The steady drone of anti-Islamic sentiment, growing since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, was catalyzed by a series of unfortunate incidents. Imam Zaid Shakir has written essays in response to many of the issues.
