When I chose these two guards to upload, I kept wondering, what to add..
I finally found some verses of a longer poem, by Egyptian poet Amal Dunqul

I was carrying only a pen close to my ribs.
I was carrying only my pen.
In my hand five mirrors
Reflect the light (that reaches from my blood)
Knocking at the gate of the city:
- "Open the gate"
The guards did not reply.
- "Open the gate, I am asking for a shadow"
Came the reply: "Certainly not".