<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class="">In the Old Town of Kandahar<br class="">
<br class="">
In the old town of Kandahar<br class="">
a woman always brought <br class="">
two baskets of figs to the market<br class="">
one to sell, and one to give away<br class="">
<i class="">One for my children</i> she said, beaming, <i class="">and one for Allah<br class="">
</i><br class="">
I did not know exactly what she meant<br class="">
though felt she did, and so I trusted <br class="">
<br class="">
From the cut of my clothes<br class="">
and soft leather of my shoes, she knew<br class="">
the color of cash in my pocket<br class="">
yet, we bargained good-naturedly at ease <br class="">
over the price of a fig <br class="">
from the basket for her children<br class="">
<br class="">
She would take nothing, though, for those in Allah’s basket<br class="">
where the sweetest were shared without hesitation<br class="">
and the grateful eyes of a hungry beggar <br class="">
could become an angel’s blessing<br class="">
<br class="">
When I ventured to sample from Allah’s basket<br class="">
the woman looked into my eyes, said earnestly<br class="">
<i class="">You must eat slowly; that one you eat for us all<br class="">
</i><br class="">
In a flash I understood what my reason could not –<br class="">
Allah’s figs, the market, and the world<br class="">
were all the same to her<br class="">
<br class="">
Reaching into Allah’s basket<br class="">
I was entering into sacred kinship<br class="">
with everything<br class="">
<br class="">
In the dusty market of old Kandahar <br class="">
ten thousand miles from my birth place<br class="">
I was coming home<br class="">
<br class="">
<br class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Karl W. Frederick<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;" class=""><br class="">
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