On Afghan Trails

Nigel Jackson

14 September 2002

In Memory of Ahmad Sha Masood

Still through the long, sweet grasses of the plain

of your dear land, you stride with faith and gun

And a small file of bearded friends to gain

Peace for your folk beneath the watching sun.

And still in the high Panjshir slopes the rocks

Speak in a very ancient tongue your noble name.

In the quiet lake's mirror and the torrent's shocks

Your face appears and echoes of your fame.

Across the seas the perfume of your deeds 

Has steadied hearts of those you never knew;

And your spilled blood has nourished other seeds

To bring new heroes to our children's view.

Rest in the deep earth and sturdy soul

Of your valley home and be assured that never

Will your example, pious, certain, whole,

Be lost — a life no infamy can serve.