The Bedouin and the Merchant
‘You are Bedouin’ he proclaimed
‘Is this a joke, some kind of game?’
‘No! This calling truly befits my name.’
A descendant of Al Hijaaz
Claiming to be ‘A Bedouin with a cause’
‘I swear to you, I know who is who and who was.’
If one can feel the other’s heart
This surely means, ‘now you are part’
A city dweller reclaims her Arab roots
While merchants and Bedouins ferociously dispute
Now the two must Unite
Without reclaiming each other’s right
For you both are brothers
In a Land of Love
So please take this olive branch and holy white dove
From me to you I humbly say
let’s stop our quibbling
let’s not betray.
I’m telling you this land speaks to me
I too am a part of your rich history
The tree, camel, Bait ul Ateeq, the mystical peacock and even the Red Sea!
All in her tongue of eloquent mastery
Her message is UNITY
Come, Oh Merchant!
Come, Oh Bedu!
Let’s cast away our broken hearts
Mend our differences, forget the past
Let’s embalm ourselves with the Oud of Arabia
And make ourselves a living Utopia.