The mosque is now a mass grave:
those who came to pray
have been buried under the rubble
covered in the shroud of
blood, dust, and splinters.
They were just some regular folks,
unflinching in faith
but not unafraid of death.
They couldn’t finish their prayer:
a flock of diligent drones
brought down the dome
and the whole roof
upon the heads
devotedly bowed down on the floor.
Through the cracks of rubble
can be seen
a child’s wide-open eyes
staring towards heaven.
Rakibul Hasan Khan is a Bangladeshi academic, poet, and writer based in New Zealand. He holds a PhD in English from the University of Otago, where he remains affiliated. His scholarly and creative work have been published internationally. He can be contacted at [email protected].
