Today I am the guest editor on The Tuesday Poem Hub, featuring Abdullah, Servant of God by Christchurch poet, Wade Bishop.

Wade Bishop

Wade has kindly provided a background to the poem, which begins:

” Syria was never on my “must see” list when I was traveling, but just happened to be “on the way” when I planned an overland trip from Turkey to Egypt in 1997.  …  Syria has always been sold as the “hotbed of terrorism”, the home of “tea towel wearing extremists” … I wasn’t sure what to expect.”

And in my commentary, as guest editor, I observe the following (among a deal else):

“When I first heard Wade Bishop read Abdullah, The Servant of God at the Canterbury Poets’ Collective several weeks ago, I was struck by the extent to which the poem not only addressed a real and pressing international issue, but did so out of direct experience. The authenticity of that experience speaks from every line of the poem …”
.

“Abdullah, The Servant of God
He was not a handsome man
not even in possession of a face that was easy to look into
it was journey twisted and wrinkled like a baby at birth
……………………only his never smoothed
the folds filled with hopes and wonders …”
.

To read more, please click on:

Abdullah, The Servant of God — by Wade Bishop

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To read this week’s poem on the Tuesday Poem Hub, and other great poems featured by fellow Tuesday poets from around the world, click here.