Inspired by the letters of Ethel and Julius
Wishing for the roses of your lipswe offered ourselves to a gallows'
Longing for the radiance of your glowing handswe let ourselves be slain in unlit
On the gallows away from our facedarted the redness of your ruby lips,waved the playfulness of your youthful locks,shone the glow of the silver palms.
When the evening of suffering settled in your alleyswe came, as far as our steps could
Words of poetry on our lips, a lamp of anguish in our
Our suffering was a testimony to your
See, we were faithful to our
We, who were slain in unlit pathways.
If failure was our destined endyour love was indeed our own doing.
Who is to blame if all the roads of passionled to the killing grounds of separation.
Picking up our flags from these groundswill march forth more caravans of your
For whose journeys' sake, our footsteps haveshortened the lengths of the agonizing
For whose sake we have made universalby losing our lives, the pledge to your
We, who were slain in unlit pathways.(Montgomery Jail, 15 May 1954)(Prison Journal)Translation by Hamid Rahim Sheikh
