salaam
this is a special ode to the international masjid in phnom penh:
two minarets high in the sky with a gold dome between,
the grandeur of this cambodian masjid is a sight to be seen.
your gates stand majestic, and the view is immense,
i tremble with excitement as i pass through the fence.
proud to be muslim...my heart sings with joy,
but slightly confused i become, when approached by a boy.
nekid is he, and wet to the bone
dripping and flipping he is not alone.
there 's about 15 others, and all of them, birthday suit clad,
doing bare assed handstands and smiling...they couldn't be more glad.
so why, you may ask, were they wet to the bone?
because the front of the masjid looked like a flood zone.
murky brown water awaited our feet,
and if you know my wife...this was not a treat.
"jihad!" i cried, which means 'struggle' in arabic,
but the thought of malaria had my wife very scared of it.
i tried to convince her that there was nothing to fear,
and reminded her of the little boys who had just been soaking their rears.
if it was that dangerous they'd surely find a place that was better,
but with all my smooth talking she was still real unsettled.
i said, "look there's a bridge, it's gotta be safe"
she screamed, "not when its made from toothpicks and duct tape!"
so her hand i held as i waded knee deep,
and bambi-kneed she fumbled across the bridge incomplete.
"don't worry", i said, "we're almost there",
as she's got the front of the masjid locked in her stare.
she leaps to the steps and breathes a huge sigh of relief,
and from behind, an approving "BAAA", from the resident family of sheep.
oh cambodia, your country leaves me with mixed emotion,
to have a masjid like that...ya'll must have been smokin'.
so how can i convey all that we've seen
to the people back home who read only what we bring?
try this...next time you all go to your houses of prayer,
picture flood waters deep, sheep, and bottoms of bare
...stir it all together, and then you'll be there.
salaam
mateo
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