My prayer mat is drenched in the blood of those you’ve killed
My prayer beads shatter every time you pull that trigger
My fast is broken by the taste of the tears of those you’ve caused to grieve
My ears are burning with the words you say, thick with hate, rough with lies, ugly, putrid, insane
You wear my name
You wear my face
You twist my holy words
You turn towards the same direction I turn to when I pray for peace, yet you yell for war
You claim my beliefs
You scream my God’s name
And you dare to call me brother
They might not see, but I see right through you
You aren’t of me
I am not of you
Under all that makes us seem like one,
There lies the truth:
You are darkness where I am light
You are hate where I am love
You are judgement where I am mercy
You are terror where I am hope
You are theft where I am charity
You are a monster where I am humanity
You are wrong where I am right
You are shame, disgrace, blasphemy
You are sin
I cannot understand you yet I am asked to justify your atrocities
How could you do what you do?
How is your heart hardened and dead when we are taught to love, respect, care and sacrifice?
You aren’t of me
I am not of you
You steal my name
You steal my face
And you try to taint my faith
They might not see, but I see right through you
Hate taking a deceptive form
No matter what you do
You won’t stop my prayers for all your victims
You won’t stop the fight I wage against you
You won’t stop the love that I dutifully practice
You won’t stop the hopeful knowledge that we will prevail
As we both turn our heads to the heavens,
Speaking the same divine name,
My prayers for peace will destroy your prayers for fear
They might lose sight of you because they might not see, but I can see right through you
And I am not alone