We Who Were Slain In Unlit Pathways

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