قل للرياض.. لا تحزني

This poem came in the aftermath of the terrorist attack that targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, encapsulating feelings of pain and anger in a poetic voice that blends nostalgia for Riyadh with pride in its resilience, transforming sorrow into a national stance that invigorates determination in defense of the homeland and its sanctities.

Tell Riyadh greetings and peace
From the heart of an expatriate who spent years
Longing makes his eyes weep and a dagger
Of nostalgia has taken residence in his ribs
In every hill, breezes have been carried
With the fragrance of wildflowers or the scent of lavender
Is your full moon still the destination of travelers
In the night of journeying, its light scattering?
Does it still shine in the dusk of darkness
Igniting the verses of love, reviving ailments?
The ruins of my love in your lands have been visited
With a sigh that has wandered for years
In your heights, I have memories that whenever
They cross my mind, they ignite a passion and bones
And I remain smiling more than my ancestors' laughter
How many dreams have we lost as dreams?
Until a dove from your midst caught my attention
It lamented, and the sound of its cooing grew
It mourns to me the towering ones from the sanctuary
How they were violated to become rubble
And it informed me of the inviolable ones pleading
They cooed like leaves stained in heaps
Weeping for elders or women who were burned
Treachery has pierced the heart with arrows
Tell Riyadh, my beloved, do not grieve
One day for you, but for the enemy, days
O refuge of ancient glory, be patient
If a criminal and vile one lies in wait
Then roar from a rage, do not dream
The anger of the patient when it flares like a sword
From the lineage of the humiliated Abraha, they inherited
All the stupidity and their ignorance is a crime
They did not know that the birds that
Threw stones were not illusions
Awaken, O falcons of the desert, guarding the sanctuary
Pour upon them in the mountains a rain
Defend the two holy places and their servants
From those who stand at night and those who fast
Avenge for the religion of God, the first cause
Then avenge for the widows and orphans
These battles you realize are
The paths to paradise, a martyrdom and a station.