I will die of thirst
ever a want of knowing
that everywhere and elsewhere
rivers of knowledge are flowing

I will die of thirst
where enlightenment cannot be found
confined to low dry stoney ground
fully aware that above me
clear and sparkling 
mountain streams abound

I will die of thirst
of missed opportunity
from the Afghan rivers I happen to see
ignorance spikes their fresh waters
their learning journeys are lost to me

while here the wells of education 
I would plumb are dry
my parched mouth speaks dumb 
to a vacant sky
my brain a withering interpreter 
blank of effective words
and to such deficits I must succumb
never listened to nor heard

my thirst for comprehension
always unslaked uncured
I tell you what is worst
slowly I die of lack of knowledge
cursed by this relentless thirst