Archives / Poem

9

Tracing The Prophets’ Footsteps

As we leave the Arafat sunset, And ride to Muzdalifa. The whiteness of our ihrams Gleams in the darkness. “Hajj Mubarak,” a sister whispers, As she embraces me tightly. Her tear stained cheek touches mine, In silent salaam. “What are we doing here?” my ten year old sister asks, As we lie on the sandy stones, In the open of Muzdalifa. “We are tracing the footsteps of our prophets,” my father replies, As he raises his hands to the heavens. Muhammad’s blessed footsteps from Mina to Arafat to Muzdalifa....

15 December 2011 | Hajj | , , , , , | 9 Comments
7

Painting Time

I’m wasting colours, painting time, Throwing the pen in the air, Slicing okra in the orange-faded Kitchen, watching the thirds tessellate Like broken stencils in the colander. The metal fades, so I drag the blinds And unscroll the curtains to see rain Slipping down the windows. The Song? Tapestries of water Drops, puddles, oceans, casting lullabies, I try to follow - but my voice dies, They whisper the tune until I forget. Everything turns to dust: I can tell you I will, not when, There are shapes in the shadows,...

13 December 2011 | Featured, Time | , , , , , , , | 7 Comments
16

Breeze of Redemption

On the hard ground she lay, A thing forgotten, left to decay, Her chest heaving up and down, Her heart beating, but she could hear no sound. A tear slid down ever so slowly, Never before had she felt so lonely. Doomed to fall within the folds of the earth, An embodiment of the clay she was before birth. She was alive, but barely hanging on, Inside she was hollow, her faith long gone, Tainted by the poison of ignorance, Her face long stripped of faith’s radiance. She knew...

09 December 2011 | Qur'an | , , , , , | 16 Comments
10

Morning After Mourning

A quiet appeal, whispering, waking, Attempting to relieve the self-inflicted aching, Heavy with sleeplessness, I reject any reckoning, Of my conscience, beckoning, beckoning, beckoning. But the attempts of the devil to leave me immobilized Are weaker than the guilt that has me hypnotized, And in that split second, I open my eyes. My soul kindles a flame, summons me to follow, Says, “Leave not the grieving for tomorrow.” The blanket of stars, ever luminescent, I am brought under, By the destroyer of pleasures that wakes me from slumber. I...

01 December 2011 | Repentance | , , , , , , | 10 Comments
14

Finding Freedom

Freedom. That elusive state of mind, Cherished much, different in kind, Sought after by the soul of man, Seeking, foolishly, in far off lands, Freedom; are you on the wings of the birds, Traversing the sky in organized herds? Or perhaps you are found in the heart of the youth, Living for the moment, yet to see the truth? Freedom; are you the wind that kisses the trees, Invisible yet felt in the form of a breeze? Or maybe you are hidden in violent rage, In the tears that...

25 November 2011 | Freedom | , , , , | 14 Comments
5

The Lake House

Beyond a forest whence wind whispers, Amidst harmony and her sisters, Among vast land and alluring shadows, Stood a lake house in a deserted meadow. It cried a hymn, a cunning calling, To the one who found it deceiving; appalling, “Thou hast thieved thyself of this, Thou must return and reminisce.” Temptations were of the victim’s least interest, For long has it been defiantly distressed. Never did he intend to return; He cursed the lake house and wished it to burn. In the depths of the darkness it was...

23 November 2011 | Desires | , , , , , , , | 5 Comments
12

Up and Away

There are days when the sun is on a chariot, bursting through the clouds. And I am elevated enough to throw my head back and allow its rays to greet me. Those same days I sweep down from that altitude to give my salaams to the city of grass that chippers in excitement when it sees me. There are days when the clouds are too melancholy to part their wisps for the sun. And I am elevated enough to feel them weeping warm rain. Those same days I sweep...

02 October 2011 | Faith | , , , , , , , | 12 Comments
6

Three Tears

What’s been said once was unknown, Of tales long sung, long left to roam, To dwell in hearts so new and pure, Such words of man that cease to cure. Tales they created so foolishly, Of merry folk and love set free, So did the people blindly follow, And found only void; their souls hollow. Alas, sorrow has claimed the pain, What was unknown is now explained. And when the morrow came to pass, What was unknown is known at last. Bittersweet was the truth that came, For it...

21 August 2011 | Afflictions | , , | 6 Comments
5

Crimson Drenched Eyes

Another tear rolls down my cheek, I feel it meandering its way down, Joining the others to form a stream. I slowly close my crimson drenched eyes, Feeling the shatter inside my chest; The vessel has finally begun to leak. ‘In life you will meet all kinds of people’ I hear my father’s words ringing in my ears. But no matter how prepared you think you are, It will never be enough for this kind of betrayal. Treated appallingly in more ways than one, Their selfishness has made me...

11 August 2011 | Calamities | , , , , , , | 5 Comments
3

Ramadan Hitchhiker

Days draw horizontal lines In the hallow centre of my unkempt mind. Invisibly etched words leave their mark A standing silhouette in the lingering dark A Ramadan Hitchhiker I had always been Ramadan, a smokeless mirror, soul buried in sin I wandered through the month aimlessly No zeal or depth, only attempts made feebly My fasts, prayers, and actions steered in a ship anchored in misdeeds How would I one day reap what I sowed when I hadn’t planted the seeds? But one day everything transformed. One lasting prayer...

03 August 2011 | Ramadan | , , , , , , , | 3 Comments
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