Bigger-Picture

Bigger-Picture

Windows on the world

Poems

T.E.L.
(first published at www.write-away.co.uk)

I drew these tides of men into my hands
And wrote my will across the sky in stars;
Yet though I fought your tribes in desert sands
It was my love that left me battle-scarred.

I was a spy and planned to build your tomb
When first I came to re-define your land;
But with your kiss the desert flower found bloom
Whilst I drew these tides of men into my hands.

I fought for peace, that much I know is true
And for that end I dined with kings and Shahs.
But when all seemed mirage, it was for you
I wrote my will across the sky in stars.

That final night of love you weren’t afraid
You gave your body yet blocked my demands.
I rose at dawn and fasted, cried, and prayed,
Before I fought your tribes in desert sands

I gave my all yet Allah spared my life
But your death cut me open like a shard
For though I felt the pain of gun and knife
It was your love that left me battle-scarred.

Note: The first two lines are taken from the personal dedication by T E Lawrence (of Arabia) to the mysterious S.A. in “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”. The rest is fiction.