The Last Kiss Before Iftar

The Last Kiss Before Iftar

“Ma, what’s for iftar today?” the girl asked softly, well,
Her mother checked her books, each lesson, line, and spell.
“Zoolbia at sunset,” she smiled, the little girl loved it well.
Not knowing that morning’s kiss would be her last farewell.

A sudden roar split the sky, a fierce and thunderous yell,
A missile struck the school; bright childhood dreams fell.
A mother’s heart is torn with grief; no words can quell,
She hears that parting kiss beneath the thunder of the shell.

Her mother cries in anguish, her shattered heart must yell,
“What hate have they for children? What grief can they tell?
My little girl knew nothing of war where missiles fell,
What crime had she committed to face that fiery hell?”

So many dreams she carried, bright hopes about to swell,
She was to share the evening iftar, the meal she loved so well.
What fault was hers, Khudaya, that tolled this ruthless knell?
A child who barely knew the world, struck by the coward’s shell.

Her sudden parting from this world, a tale no lips can tell,
The little girl knew not she’d rest in eternal peace as well.
A shaheed, she found a grace where martyrs’ blessings swell,
Lost to this playful world, she rose beyond the fire and shell.

From heaven she peeps down and sees the earth in fiery hell,
“Ay Khuda, why create a world where flames of hatred dwell?
Why must the weak and innocent hear fate’s ruthless knell,
While tyrants raise their empires behind the guns and shell?

Let history write her name, a tale the world must tell,
A child whose silent sacrifice made human hearts all swell.
Though tyrants rained their fury down and cruel missiles fell,
Her soul now blooms in mercy far beyond the fire and shell.