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Al-Malik al-Kamil and St Francis

I
Damietta is the devil’s stench,
the Nile a swamp of Hades, glutted
with decayed corpses. We crossed the sea
seeking martyrdom; six weeks we shipped
with many hundreds who lusted gold
glory and escape from punishment
now given licence in the land of
the infidel. Saracen spies were
captured, their eyes gouged; nose, lips and ears
cut off. Bishop Pelagio rejoiced,
sent them back, their mutilation
a mark of God’s justice. And in revenge
their galleon troop made raid deep into
our Christian camp, captured women and
children, impaled them with sword and pike.
In protest and disgust, Francis demanded
audience with Pelagio: ‘I will
show true reverence to all, convert by
example, not by the sweep of sword’.
‘You may go and preach’, the Bishop allowed,
‘But martyrdom will be your only
reward’. And so Francis and I made
vigil to embolden us to God’s will.


II
The muezzin cried out their salat as
we made our way to the Saracen camp.
We demanded audience with their
Saracen leader. Because of our
shepherd rags and rope for cincture
the sentries thought us sufiyya.
‘The Sultan will meet with you, for he
is devout and fears Allah’. We were
brought to stand before him, both Francis
and he the same age. And thus Francis
spoke, and I translated, ‘I come to
bring the peace of Christ, not the sword of
those who claim His allegiance. I come
to plead with you to lay down your arrow
and lance, so all men may live in God’s
bounteous love’. At which the Saracen
councillors demanded our execution.
‘They dare come to preach to us of their
Christ, whose brood and progeny has oppressed
and scavenged our land. Death to those who
mean to convert us to evil’. But
Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil replied:
‘I see by their holy demeanour
and garb these men neither mean us harm,
nor command an army to engage
us in any mortal battle. I wish
to listen to them speak of their Christ,
a prophet, as Mohammad acknowledges,
for one cannot defeat an enemy
unless one understands the fear and
cast of their soul and heart’.


III
A week we spent under the Sultan’s
hospitality, he, eager to learn
about the crucified Christ, listened
in true and gentle humility.
‘Our holy Koran commands us to seek
Truth. You and I desire similar
graces from our God. It is the heart
of man that whispers with hate and fear,
contaminating and destroying.
Your Bishop Pelagio has rejected
my truce, the Holy relics you treasure,
the Kingdom of Jerusalem and
thirty years of peace. His greed has darkened
the light of God in his heart. I do not
condemn you for his sin. Why should
I put you to death, men of God,
who, according to your own beliefs,
seek only my salvation?’


IV
The Sultan granted us safe passage
to Jerusalem, with gifts of gold
and cloth of silk which we requested
be given to his poor. He blessed us
in the name of Allah. ‘There is but
One God’, we prayed, ‘and the Name is called
Compassion’. And so Francis and I,
made a new journey through the heart
of the eastern desert to the sea.
I had sought suffering and martyrdom,
if it was to be God’s holy will;
but neither did He seek. And thus, I,
Illuminatus, His troubadour
of peace, sing now of my brothers
Francis and al-Malik al-Kamil.

Quite good. Easy flow with each detail coming into focus. Appears ready for continuation, would be nice to see more of this story, the characters and their commentary.

hi jimmy

I seldom hear accents in poetry but in the beginning of yours it had for me a deep scottish one.

interesting poem and like Red said it could hold being continued. I for one would gladly follow you taking Francis to Rome

Thanks for the responses...

I don't intend to bring Francis back to Rome or anywhere else. I think this is a self contained piece. It is based on an actual incident that took place in 1219 during the fifth(?) Crusade... but has resonances in 2009... The Sultan and Francis were the same age and both men were changed by the encounter, especially Francis...

Jimmy

Jimmy O'Connell wrote:Thanks for the responses...

I don't intend to bring Francis back to Rome or anywhere else. I think this is a self contained piece. It is based on an actual incident that took place in 1219 during the fifth(?) Crusade... but has resonances in 2009... The Sultan and Francis were the same age and both men were changed by the encounter, especially Francis...

People sometimes laugh at the claims of what happened in the encounter, but what isn't laughed at is the very well verified fact that he did go there, went there on foot, and came back alive. That in itself is worth considering.

It was a rather bizarre encounter in many ways. Francis was that kind of guy... but a spiritual genius nonetheless.
It marked a watershed in Francis's thinking. After his encounter with al-Kamir his attitude to other religions changed. He saw that there was a need within Christianity to be more tolerant of other beliefs, and when preaching he urged his friars to be "plain, direct, but also prudent, gentle and respectful."
A lesson indeed for 2009...

Jimmy O'Connell wrote:It was a rather bizarre encounter in many ways. Francis was that kind of guy... but a spiritual genius nonetheless.
It marked a watershed in Francis's thinking. After his encounter with al-Kamir his attitude to other religions changed. He saw that there was a need within Christianity to be more tolerant of other beliefs, and when preaching he urged his friars to be "plain, direct, but also prudent, gentle and respectful."
A lesson indeed for 2009...

years later the pope decided that it would be good to put the franciscans in care of converting the jews and so that was a mission they were given.

The following is from a clip in a movie that Leonard was asked to write songs for. He loved the idea and wanted to do it for free in honor of st francis. even suggested that everyone work for free.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlN8vIpFXjs

Loved the Zeferelli movie years ago...
Madness?
Divine madness.

As for the conversion of the Jews??? Glad they failed...

I have revised this particular poem.
I wasn't happy with the structure... I think I allowed the form to control the drama and narrative...
I decided on a syllabic line structure and hope it works better as a poem...

It probably needs more work... if it does and I can work at it some more I will re-revise it!!!!

Hope this works better...

Jimmy

Hello again, how's it goin. Interesting to see the new revision of your poem. It was a pleasure to revisit the poem. I think I prefer the previous version - the new one seems too rushed, with no pauses to take things in properly. But hey that's only me.

Thanks Rel...
the jury might still be out on this one...