Poem

Waziristan

Had you forgotten me?

Still here where contour lines swirl

Into impenetrable defiles

Where sparrowhawks spiral

And mountain streams tumble

Down to the Tochi River and beyond

Last night an aroma of palawoo

Wafted through the pistachio grove

Below our cavern and I thought of home

The compound in Riyadah

And Nona in the kitchen wreathed in steam.

Oh I know what is happening my friends

And all about my demonisation

It's there on my Toshiba laptop

I see it all the time

But the word of Allah is as crystal clear

As Shawal's sweet springs -

"Cast into Hell every hardened unbeliever...

Hurl him into the fierce tormenting flames!"

I'm sorry

Had you forgotten me?

I am

أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن‎

And like these mountains

I endure.

Notes:-

defiles - very narrow mountain valleys with single file paths.

Tochi - one of the principal rivers of Waziristan which eventually feeds into the Indus

palawoo - a goat stew much prized in the region

Riyadh - in Saudi Arabia, bin Laden's childhood home

Shawal - one of the high hill ranges of Waziristan

أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن‎ - Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden