Bab al-Asbat

(Lonely Planet: Although Süleyman called it Bab al-Ghor the name never stuck and it became known as St. Stephen's Gate)

Is this the gate
that we negotiated
with the taxi driver
for him to take us to the closest entry
to the Holy of Holies,
during that bit of night
when it is another day when you might
tell a black thread from the white

is this the gate
that launched a thousand...
no, unleashed a squadron
of Israeli soldiers
to 'capture' the city
and whose fame is now immortalized
on the wall of the muslim graveyard
that might be home to martyrs
other than St. Stephen?

is this the gate
that Palestinian school children
come in through early Sunday morning
to commit to heart verses from the Koran
that mentions the masjid?
the masjid in whose memory
Helena built Hagia Sophia,
and Süleyman built Süleymaniye
and these walls and gates
protecting his home away from home,
his Constaninople away from Masjid al-Aqsa

Bab al-Asbat
that finds no room in annals of today
but shall forever remain in the taste of the bread we broke
making our way towards home
during that bit of day
when you just start to be able to tell
the black thread from the white.