Marjan - the Pearl of Afghanistan

MARJAN - THE PEARL OF AFGHANISTAN . . . MERA JAAN MARJAN . . . Given as a gift from Germany to Kabul zoo in Afghanistan No fields to run in - just a miserable enclosed barren land You were blessed with a beautiful lioness partner - Chucha She must have made you feel no less than a majestic Shah You survived against all the invasions and the bloody wars Behind those dark miserably cramped closed barring doors You were a survivor that against - all the cruelly made odds Was even threaten to be killed by the - unholy Taliban sods But your loyal keeper fought for your life - using the Quran With the prophet Muhammad helping you to all understand That an animal is to be respected - he also had his own pets To kill you Marjan would in the end only have its own regrets But you were brought down by an - egotistical Mujahedeen Who you killed for mauling your Chucha - for fun it seemed In turn the killed brother gave you three grenades as a gift The damage it caused you was more than deserved - swift You lost your sight in one eye and near all of it in the other Because of a under deserving revenge of a grieved brother You lost all of your teeth - with the blast all of your hearing Yet you survived - to Afghans you became more endearing That they took it upon themselves to then kill this very man For the ignorance of the situation as he did not understand You had thought this man was a threat to your lioness pride As it was in the end his own fault he was attacked then died As the wars in Afghanistan raged so did the famine drought When it came to food I was afraid there was little of it about But the Afghan people gathered in force to see you were fed No one wanted the Shah Marjan from hunger be found dead You came through all of this - skin sagging on a frame so lean But for it all never did once made you ferocious or seen mean As your beloved keeper walked with you within your enclosure For all of your injuries you always maintained your composure Your name traveled worldwide - and they all come to do their best But after a quarter of a century you had then laid yourself to rest This tribute is to you mera jaan Marjan – the pearl of Afghanistan May you always with Chucha - fly free high above this desert land Higher and higher with the longed for eternal peace may you soar As the winds carry along with it your once mighty and proud roar Marjan - 1976 - 2002 - The Pearl of Afghanistan . . . Indiana Shaw . . . -_-