A WIDE WILD WHITE WORLD

I woke up lying on a beach
it was a sparkling stretch of sand
soft and warm, under my body
like an eagle’s nest
I should have felt elated
but, strangely, neither joy nor gloom affected me
before my eyes spread a wide expanse of water
it could have been the sea, or the Indian ocean
with great, lofty waves, splashing the air
with the muffled echo of a myriad crackers
yet, yet ... it was the color of milk
the horizon was surrounded by mountains
and the peaks were capped with fresh snow
here again, the range stood draped in a whitish gauze
far behind me I could perceive a mangrove
that too was doused in white
now and then the maddening buzz of mosquitoes
would invade my head
feeling my pulse, I started to panic
my limbs - I was totally naked - shimmered
as if covered with cocaine powder
white ought to be the reflection of light
the favorite shade of brides
the color of all things lovely and pure
but this whiteness, let me tell you,
was like nothing on earth
might we then be standing on the threshold
of a post-modern Garden of Eden
in which, so claim the suicide bombers,
Allah’s promises will materialize
with virgins galore for those ‘brave men’
who kill dozens of infidels,
that there are innocent children and invalids
among them is but a mere detail
And how about the womanfolk,
what do they get for their ‘sacrifice’?
do they just stare at their martyr brothers and husbands
and serve them savory tidbits and Turkish delights,
while they make love to the nymphs?