10/08/2001 (written after the terrorist attack of 911)

The skies are screaming

In a thunderous rage

For every thud 

My heart aches

For the maimed without

The wheelchair

For every flash on the

CNN screen

I think of the child holding on

So close to her mother’s dress

Trembling with the fear of the

Inevitable

Jalalabad and Kabul 

On FirE

As the “collateral damage”

Scrambles in a desperate attempt

To break free of this hell

Called the “Taliban.”

I close my eyes 

Only to see the tears 

Of my shattered land

Attempting to break free

Of these chains of the 

Pakistani and Arab infidels

Oh my beloved Afghanistan

Outsiders may scar the 

Landscape

But they shall never

Break our spirit and pride.

**There are 500,000 amputees in Afghanistan with little or no access to wheelchairs.

Qais Arsala is a native of Afghanistan who immigrated to the US in 1984 as a result of the Soviet Invasion. Arsala says that “As a refugee/immigrant, I feel every single step I take will be a great example to my future grandchildren here in America.