The Silent Night
Was there once upon a time
when angels were created
before man, before djinn
and then tested? Was there
once upon a time
when they thought
they had it licked
all their batting averages
1.000 to the 10th power?
Allah created Gibreel
before the rest of us,
all the angels, all the djinn
to serve as witness:
time and time again
sworn to secrecy
honest to a fault
willing to take a newborn's
soul from his love lorn mother
if told to do so.
Gibreel did it,
never gave an inch
nor flinched nor balked.
It was necessary
because later on
when Gibreel had to talk
to a virgin and convince her,
Gibreel had to come with some
sort of proof that he wasn't
just some Adonis or other
bon vivant. To prove
that the very long line
of heredity was about to change
and change for good.
Gibreel has been through the all of it
the thick of it, the ups and downs
of it. Gibreel wept at long absences
between round trips
saying to the prophets
each and every one of them:
"I missed you so much friend."
But, once upon a time
there was nothing but angels
and stars and night and angels
would not know a lie
because lies did not exist.