Pilgrimage of Prayer

A barren land
Renowned for its dead
It was in fact
A piece of heaven
That earth held onto
Few recognized it
They were the pilgrims

Against a rising sun
Whilst the sand was still cool
Barefoot in black
They inched towards the shrine
Their first pilgrimage or a regular
Gratitude and remembrance
In a dusty paradise
The dome glitters its welcome
Who could hold back tears?

She watched from afar
Confined yet content
Surely some blessings
Will drift her way…
When arms so strong
Lifted her off the seat
Determined
Carrying her on his back
Through the throng
Into cool air
Faint scent of attar
Her master’s mausoleum

She sat clutching the sacred grill
Asked for nothing
After all he knew what lay in her heart
Tears from another life
As he protected her from the swarm

Time had melted brutally
Her chair he prepared to wheel
But she placed her feet
On the burning sand
Holding onto him
Weak, bony legs
Took a step
And another…
“She will never walk again…”

Maybe not a miracle
But an awakening of the will
A pilgrimage of prayer

(A prayer please, for a 17 year old, that she may be able to walk again, a victim of the terror at Westgate Mall, Nairobi, Kenya)