Spheres revolve around their axis whilst each other they go round,
The axis that is the pole between beloved and lover they are turning
around;
But though the existence of the universe on this love tale depends,
What is this axis that’s everywhere apparent, nowhere to be found?
*
Kind friends, good company; a happy birthday party!
If good food, fine talk and heartfelt wishes there be,
What more can one ask from a world that’s passing,
What better way to share our transient humanity.
*
You say you have a headache – what can I say,
You say it’s just been a really horrendous day.
It sounds pretty lame to mutter my sympathy,
But dear all I can do is hope it soon passes away.
*
A white cloud on sky blue skies,
A heavenly daughter smiling,
Innocent love sighs.
Night black hair cascading,
Young yet wise.
Sweet songs singing,
And those eyes!
Tell me is it any surprise,
I am happy with this prize.
*
Ah You gave me daughters – what can I say to You,
Daughters, pure hearted ones and beauties too.
Whatever I liked or longed for you gave me freely,
Now they’re in my heart, and gratitude is due to You.
*
Metaphors, similes, and so many images abound,
O heart, do not linger too long; do not be bound,
By fantasies, but press on in reality’s pursuit;
Seek the truth and accept no kind of substitute.
Seek the place of gathering with all your energy,
In the gathering of the gathered hearts try to be.
Dogs sniff at every bitch and whatever they may see,
Bring your dog to heel and teach it to walk proudly;
For O heart you are precious, high born, and free,
Do not, I say, bend the knee to every passing fantasy.
*
Time and place and company all conspire,
To set the heart on fire; poetry they inspire,
Otherwise words on paper carry no weight;
But then all words, one thing seem to say
God is Great, God is Great, God is Great.
In very many and different kinds of way.
*
Sweet, sonorous, song bird hear my plea,
Show the dawn sleepers some of your beauty.
Sing about surrender, and so render service,
To the King whose kingdom all love is.
Sing with lips but with the heart also;
Sing of sorrow and the pain of love show,
Sing of Majnun’s madness and Laila’s disdain,
Of the poor heart held fast in love’s chain.
Give voice to those who know the Way,
The way to be alive, and to truly pray.
*
Sweet of face and pure of heart,
More than just nature or man’s art,
A momentary glimpse in time and space,
Of that timeless and eternal Face?
With Love
With love the bird our garden filled,
When that inspired songster softly trilled,
Of the beauty of your lovely face,
That on each flower has left its trace.
With love the gardener went to his toil,
To break the back of hardened soil,
Till the softened heart of the earth,
Was ready to bring about another birth.
With love the evening lamp was lit -
A moon with the light of the sun in it.
I mean your face shone so brightly,
The darkness of night just had to flee.
With love you touched my heart so gently,
Joy in your beauty filled me completely,
Now the seven heavens lie beneath my feet,
And In the court of Hafiz I have my seat.
Dedication
Sleepy and yet writing poetry,
That is dedication certainly.
Leave the page and enter the heart,
To find the key to an even finer art.
Pray tell me my kind advisor,
How do I learn to be wiser,
And to enter the heart?
Pray, where do I start?
Were I more sober and not so drunk on you
I would surely tell you exactly what to do,
But just drink deep from the wine I proffer,
In this state it is the only advice I can offer.
Secret Love
The more longing in your heart you feel,
The more the connection becomes real;
Need is another word for love you know,
Feel the need but to no other let it show.
The heart that nurtures its desire secretly,
Finds its love is growing stronger, daily.
What Can I Do?
Love has taken hold of my heart,
What can I do?
What of life? What of art?
What can I do?
Love just keeps on growing,
What can I do?
A great love-load I am bearing,
What can I do?
O cool critical mind tell me,
What can I do?
Now is the time to rescue me,
What can I do?
Don’t just stand there looking on,
What can I do?
My heart into love’s land has gone!
Morning Pool
From the dark depths a pearl shone so brightly,
It lit up the entire pool, from within. It was quietly,
Uniting with light of the sun that was threading busily,
Necklaces of light; a web of luminescent jewellery,
To spread across the bosom of the still water.
That pearl was subtler and yet in a way brighter;
As if darkest night had a radiance of its own,
Brighter than a trillion stars could have shown.
Its silent song spoke of peace that is eternal,
And in the heart laid a lasting memory-trace.
Of a timeless moment and a forever place.
While You Were Away
Sweetness departed from the sugar,
While you were away;
The sky seemed empty of every star,
While you were away;
The flowers lost their scent and colour,
While you were away;
How could I drink the wine of another,
While you were away;
You say the desert showed things to you,
While you were away;
But my heart became a desert too,
While you were away;
O make a garden from this desert I pray,
And from it never go away.
Daughter
Every day I love you more my sweetest daughter;
I feel pity for all the hearts that you will slaughter,
With your limpid eyes and lovely lilting laughter,
And your loving heart purer than running water.
Pink Blossom Tree
Child of that particularly pretty pink blossom tree;
That place of comfort, where you could be free,
From a world full of newness and uncertainty.
Did you know that tree is yours in all eternity,
If your heart is willing and your soul is ready,
To pass through the veils of memory with me?
Not to settle for an image by time made blurry,
But to seek out the reality of its unfading glory.
My Bossy Body
My bossy body told me I was far too sleepy,
But you came and poured youth’s wine into me;
And suddenly, from my body’s lies I was free
This is what love does, when you are with me.
*
When I see through my dear one's eyes
Many a heart into my vision flies;
But how should that be a surprise,
When tears of love my dear one cries.
Loaded
With nature’s choicest gifts generously gilded?
With the benefit of labour’s earnings loaded?
Then be abundant with your own generosity,
So your heart is not hardened nor eye clouded.
Sleep Work
Sleepy child, so busy in another world maybe,
Busy teaching a busy world to be more happy.
Planting Nargis flowers the waking eye can’t see,
So that the children of heart delighted will be.
A Long Time
For a long, long, time I sought you out, all because,
For a moment in my life, with you, love there was.
Sentimentality has nothing to do with any of this,
It’s just a reflection of the power that’s in love’s kiss.
No, it’s something more, it’s the promise I made you,
(Even when fate was busy tearing us apart so cruelly),
That I would come for you, however long it might be.
Not to fulfil a promise is a sure sign of hypocrisy;
O Lord, at least in this case, I pray, find me not guilty.
Love is Centre Stage
Thought – flee, and do it quickly!
Love has come today to me,
Mind – say ‘never mind’, and go!
Take your seat and see the show,
For love is centre stage right now,
There’s no time for ‘why’ or ‘how’!
Innocent
You are young and innocent,
And have nothing to repent,
You are surely heaven sent,
Divine and yet so sentient.
Innocence
The beauty of innocence came to the party,
Silence and awe descended, inevitably.
A thousand desiring glances were deflected;
A thousand hearts by that innocent collected,
And, with no effort, but with the utmost ease,
Discarded, as merely insignificant trivialities.
True innocence cannot by effort be breached,
Anymore than love by muscle can be reached;
But innocence opens its sweet gates readily,
To the heart whose pitch is perfected purity,
Serenading with songs of the lover’s painful plight,
And the blackness of a moon bereft night.
The Lovers Art
Fan the fire of love in your heart,
That is the lover's necessary art,
That alone will bring love to fruition,
The rest is decoration and addition.
To the True Guides
Slowly your generosity you made plentifully evident,
How is it that to this undeserving beggar it went?
I thought that my fortune was sleeping soundly,
But all the while you were there, acting silently,
To bring to fruition through many subtle actions,
My desires and hopes with myriad satisfactions.
Your ecstasies penetrated my dream state its true,
But the extent of your hidden ways I never knew.
So gently and expertly you did what you had to,
So little you asked of me, in order to please you.
Union came and it appeared to go, but not so,
For in the heart that union I will always know.
It would have been enough if that had been the end,
But it was the birth of realising how on you I depend.
June 5th 2016
Martyrdom
A song that speaks of the greatness of Ali Murtaza,
Is seeking to approach the heaven’s brightest star.
Doubters and scoffers each have their own destiny,
What sadness, that his beauty they won’t ever see.
Myriad enemies he fought and overcame for Islam,
For to be sure he was the truth’s strong right arm.
When the perfect Prophet asked who would follow,
Who was that youth whose “yes” was not hollow.
The great chivalry and honour he daily demonstrated
Is betrayed when fools and hypocritical asses shed,
The blood of an innocent who sings of the nearness,
Of Ali to the holy Prophet, and Allah's love confesses.
It’s the devil’s work they do, the hypocritical enemy,
Of Allah’s love, who cannot see the only blasphemy,
Is theirs, that leads them to commit such a calumny;
No better than the ones who martyred the great Ali.
Well God is Just and that justice they will surely see,
Martyr’s and murderers alike, so Jamil – let it be.
Ramadan 17, (2016)
The Urs of Hz Ali that coincided with the murder of Sabri - a well known qwaali.
When You Draw Near
When you draw near many things I hear,
Many voices come and many a strange idea,
But when you’re here, what should I fear,
For when you are here, only you are here.
The Small and Still Voice
My muse has been in hiding, watching I suspect,
From some hidden place in my heart or intellect.
Waiting to be heard in silence, when the voices,
That crowd the mind, cease offering phony choices.
Waiting, till in the room of the heart silence descends.
It’s a still and small voice, no one fully comprehends,
But when it speaks mountains tremble, seas surge,
Fire burns fiercely, planets turn, lover and beloved merge.
The world is a place of endless distress and commotion,
Turning constantly full of argument and strong emotion,
Signifying nothing, as the bard said wisely and succinctly.
Let it go on its way; instead listen patiently and quietly.
Its only in the calm mind and the peace-filled heart,
We appreciate the muse’s jewel-scattering timeless art.
Sincerity
Its not your words but the silent sighing,
In your voice, that has my head turning.
Its not your elegant manners that inspire,
Its sensing your heart burning in love's fire.
Its not the talk of ‘this or that’ that matters,
Sincerity moves me not words, sounds or letters.
Its your crying, because your heart is breaking,
That draws me from indifference to loving.
Deception
You fool, all that wisdom you had where has it gone?
You built narratives founded on lies and self deception,
With false notions you covered your God-given beauty.
Behind brittle walls of phony indignation and utter falsity,
You retired to hide from me, but I am not fooled that easily,
I will huff and puff, like the wolf in the fable, vigorously.
So that finally exposed will be the lies you try to sell,
To yourself and to me, and I find the pearl in the shell.
Desire
There is a desire rising inside me for union,
That will not be gainsaid, it just goes on and on,
It would carry me down many a by-way I suppose,
If I let it; but I stand firm I will not go by those.
It is only the road that leads to your door,
The road called the Way of the Pure and Poor,
That I will allow my desire to carry me on,
And on and on I will go till I reach that union.
In Love with Love
Could it be that I am in love with love,
And this is not a tale of you and of me?
That you also are only in love with love,
And that is the nature of our journey?
The constant companion is only love,
Whoever the lover or beloved may be.
Conversation
The Beloved;
These would be-lovers some touch of insanity must show,
If their love is as true as they swear, their heart will tell them so.
The Guide;
What you say is right, I know, but their over-all care is my duty too,
I will not let them to abandon their life altogether, even for you.
The Beloved
Ah, the kindness of the guide! Modelled on the compassion,
For humanity that from the Trustworthy one always shone.
The Disciple
How can it be that the beloved and the guide should disagree?
Bewilderment on bewilderment all this causes to arise in me.
The Guide
The beloved, it is true, lies beyond reason and insanity.
That a little of this will touch you – yes thus it must be,
But to make its effect on your life a passing, light, affair,
Hang on to me my dear, don’t wander, I have been there!
The goal is the same goal, the Beloved very well knows it,
But to drink wine from a bottle you do not have to smash it,
Only remove the cork and swig it with enthusiastic relish,
Taking as little or as much as you can bear or would wish.
As for bewilderment, it’s an inevitability, and frequent,
The heart and mind must bear this and remain silent.
The Beloved is me, and you, and is the Beloved also,
There is not nor ever has been two, this come to know.
The Beloved
My role in this affair is simple it is just to be here,
I have given guidance its up to you to get here.
And when by grace you do you will come to realise,
Here and there and everywhere is in your own eyes.
Love-lust
O this love-lust that is on me,
It returns so often, praise be!
O gutter-snipe depart I know your thought,
Its long since that with carnal lust I fought.
I won and lost many battles in that war;
But did you ever think what that was for?
Its not that lust would come to an end, no,
But that its power obedience would show,
And carry heart and spirit to new heights,
And open to my inward eye great sights.
So love-lust carry me to where,
The true beloved is waiting there.
Let it Open
Let love grow and let the lover know,
That love has to be more than show.
See the rosebud of love start opening,
Slow, sure and timely is its blooming.
Splendidly it manifests its fragile beauty,
Its scent calls every would be lover to see.
This or that rose will fade and vanish,
But the eternal rose does not perish.
O Lord! That rose in the heart’s garden,
Let it open, let it open, let it open.
Impatience
Lover, at last impatience show,
So that the beloved will know,
That you will go to any length,
With all your inner strength,
With complete determination,
Regardless of the situation,
To meet and melt together,
Till there is one and no other.
Some Short Verses
My day seemed a little, sort of, ordinary,
Neither grey and dull nor really sunny,
But when the daughter of light beamed at me
Everything so much brighter seemed to be.
I get drunk so quickly, on the wine of you,
When my lips are touched by a drop or two,
Delight descends from that hidden place,
Where our souls are one and not two.
Extravagant in my love declarations I am, you say,
True, but when love surges through me this way,
The words that surface are not mine, but to say true,
They are pearls from love’s ocean deposited by you.
The wonderful ways of the Friend,
Are marvel upon marvel without end,
From the unseen He sends, kindly,
A word of deep love to embrace me.
If it is love you really want to gain,
Let nothing else in the heart remain,
I would say so much more on this
But it’s something words can’t explain.
Star-gazer
Star-gazer, daughter of light, my eternal femininity,
The mirror in which I see perfected my own spirituality.
Even though human clay you inhabit to perfection,
In your heart, mine sees the purely divine connection.
Moulded, twisted, turned and shaped, clay can be,
Till it’s a form that the eye cries in delight to see,
But sensuous curves bring only the eye satisfaction,
Hearts and souls are given a higher expectation.
You Came
You came and sat with me, and the night shone brightly,
Like a candle that’s just been lit your face shone brightly.
Your eyes were on a quest to find the key to my heart,
The dark night they tried to pierce and they shone brightly.
You plucked every string, used every art in a lover’s heart,
And the more love you gave the more you shone brightly.
The world and its cares tried to ensnare the joyful heart,
But flickered like a shadow show when you shone brightly.
I Had Thought
I had thought that loving would be easier than this,
Only endless repeated moments taking me to bliss.
Oh dear, how much difficulty there is really though,
Like the hardship of reaping the small seeds you sow,
When they grow to a fully-fledged crop that’s waiting,
For the scythe to cut it down; only to begin wailing,
As the blade does the business that it been made for,
According to love’s divine nature and love’s own law.
They are waiting for me above to finish, yes its true!
Those Lords of Love who, before me, passed through,
The portal; they wait for my work to be completed fully,
O, I long to know how they will greet and embrace me.
There is a bond that binds those who travel on this way,
How should I not feel impatient to hear what they say.
A Gentle Sorrow
There is gentle sorrow, a silent crying you could say,
A fine mist that has come over me slowly this very day.
It’s nothing dire or dreadful, thanks be to God’s Mercy;
Just a kind of long drawn out heart-sigh it seems to be.
Is it that your sparkling eyes are not pouring out their wine?
It must be, for the mist clears when I recall the Divine,
Who made those eyes to shine, had told me graciously,
That you and your wine-filled eyes had been given to me.
Now when the Benevolent gives to a beggar it is forever,
So time and circumstance may part us, but not forever.
A Secret Lover
A secret lover, silent, how can that be?
Lovers shout their love out endlessly!
Until they're a comb in the beloved's hair,
Constantly love the lover should declare.
A song bird with no note to utter, really?
Song birds should be singing endlessly!
Until their song reaches the beloved's ear,
Constantly perfect new songs should appear.
A grieving lover and yet not a single tear?
Tears are required to show love is sincere,
Until the lover and the beloved can unite,
Constantly tears should fill the empty night.
The Breath
The breath of lover and beloved unite in sleep and waking,
For all their dreams and their daily thoughts love is invading.
The lover’s head on the beloved’s chest falls and rises again.
Love’s waves swell and fall but forever love’s ocean will remain.
Love on a Summer Morning
Love on a summer morning,
When the day is dawning
And the world is yawning,
What better time is there?
What better time is there?
Love on a summer morning,
When the early bird’s singing,
And only heaven is listening:
What better time is there?
What better time is there?
Love on a summer morning,
Lord what gifts your giving,
Treasure beyond counting:
What better time is there?
What better time is there?
Love on a summer morning,
When the sky is blushing
With all the joy its feeling.
What better time is there?
What better time is there?
Love on a summer morning,
When birds are chorusing,
And sighs are of longing:
What better time is there?
What better time is there?
Love on a summer morning,
When the world is yawning,
And the day is dawning:
What better time is there?
What better time is there?
What better time is there?
What better time is there?
One
One single point of entry there is to you,
Just that one door we have to pass through.
Beyond it so many universes that are, all you.
An infinity of dimensions, so many level too.
Wonder upon wonder, that many cannot reach,
That neither books nor words can ever teach.
A million, million, metaphors to us you send,
But to your love and power we can see no end.
That love-drunk lovers seem crazy is only right,
In this dark world they are walking in your light.
How is...
“How is your love today?” That’s a better thing to say,
Than the half empty words of, “How are you today?”
Let your love be deep, strong, long, and true,
Should anything else really matter much to you?
Guys and Girls
Diamonds and pearls entice many nice girls,
And many good guys fall for lips and curls.
All this can add up to a fine new equation,
Though, to be frank, not on every occasion.
When Love Surfaces
When love surfaces, ripples rise and spread far,
Even on distant shores they know what they are.
From the deep, dark, still, pool of non-existence,
Emerges a sound as loud and as clear as silence.
Listen well to what that sound is really conveying!
In one dimension it seems Salaams it is giving.
In another it may sound just like a lover crying,
Or wind in the woods with the trees softly sighing.
In another like a gentle old man, silver hair flowing,
A book lover over a rare find gleefully gloating.
Or yet again it may be a football crowd chanting,
Or the sound of someone unseen steadily sawing.
When love surfaces, ripples rise and spread far,
Even on distant shores they know what they are.
Tree Study
A scholar counts the leaves on a tree,
And maps all the branches carefully.
A seeker on the mystic path tries to see,
The whole tree in its essential beauty.
The one gifted with God’s great bounty,
Become the tree of eternal verity.
The one going further, what of he?
They say that one is the reality of reality!
To speak of that one’s glory is vanity,
That one is far beyond Zahuri’s poetry.
Love Is
Love is; it does not come nor does it go on its way,
It has neither fidelity, nor you will it ever betray;
It does not blink nor bat an eyelid at what you say,
If it did, you and your existence it would take away.
Love is: it does not lift you up nor cast you down,
This comedy of errors comes from you – you clown.
You can try to swim in its ocean but you will drown,
In it all is one, all this’ rising up’ and all this ‘going down’.
Love is; though a thousand fantasies you may see,
They all arise from the illusion of – ‘you’ and ‘me’.
Love is; it is reality not a concept nor yet a vanity,
When you have passed away in love you will be.
Hafiz, your poetic genius is just amazing to me,
Thanks for letting me pass it off as “ by Zahuri”.
recent Zahuri poetry page 8
March 2016
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