The traveller on the Way has to keep away from sins such as greed. The one
who has travelled successfully has another way.
Greed
A little after midnight greed came to my door,
I said to greed, “What is it that you are looking for?”
“Do you have no place” that wild one said to me,
“For this night wanderer; no kind of hospitality?”
She was wet and windswept, bedraggled, crazed,
But by every kind of wise one hospitality is praised.
And though I knew about her intoxicating way,
I opened the door and told her she could stay.
Once inside she started to show her artful wiles,
Gave me such glances and such seductive smiles.
“I am not quite the fool you take me for”, I said,
“Too many by you to destruction have been led.
But if you will do me one service you can stay”.
She smiled, “Okay - I will do whatever you say”.
I told her of my beloved, beyond any comparison,
And to use her charms only in that one’s direction.”
So now greed stays with me as my companion,
And when I lapse in giving my beloved attention,
In her wild and wanton manner she rescues me,
And toward the desired one drags me easily.
Together
The merging of mind and mind is a possibility,
Two heads sharing one thought unexpectedly.
Heart to heart however happens wordlessly,
The images that surface both hearts can see.
Beyond that though there is something better,
Two travellers in another dimension together.
Yes I can recall when that was me with you,
Travelling beyond imagination to what is true.
It is Love that has the power to bring this about,
Love that in heart and mind silences any doubt
Wise Words
May all these wise quotations equip you to find,
The thing you seek – the inner peace in the mind.
For wise words to lead you to that promised land,
Let everything go except for the beloved’s hand.
When on one hand you come to completely depend,
May the only Independent One’s love on you descend.
Deep Thought
A deep thought pursued, concentrated effort in the mind,
This can be followed by a surge of so much inner delight;
That it is very tempting to revel in it, you may well find;
But it’s more valuable if instead you return to the fight.
.......................
When the soul of a saint shifts the furniture in your mind,
Though disturbing, a better way of living you may find.
Not by thought explained nor yet by dictionary defined,
These subtleties are shown only to the heart that’s refined.
.......................
Restless waves beneath a full moon’s perfect pure light;
Untold sparkling gems; a solitary, serene and holy sight.
The religion of real love is aloof and so far above,
Every religious sect and every other form of love.
.......................
Dreams and visions are far from easy to explain,
Consistency in this even Prophets did not attain.
Very often a good augury may appear to be bad,
Therefore do not let them make you angry or sad.
Refer what is seen in them to the All-mighty instead,
Deeper than such images is what’s really in your head.
Why Do You Sleep?
Why do you sleep so soundly? Go on get up,
Take a deep drink of wine from the loving cup.
True it is, sleep has a subtle style of seduction,
But it does not compare with love in action.
Fill this heart with something more satisfying,
I mean, become once more one of the living;
Better grief and sorrow than being half dead!
To this conclusion by love I have been led.
Engage once again in the constant to and fro,
That only the beloved’s true lovers really know.
White clouds accumulate, the wind is stirring,
Giving notice that something special is coming,
In those clouds maybe they are making ready,
A toe curling brew; a potion that’s so heady,
That you will surely lose all sense of being you,
And end up floating like those clouds in the blue.
Nov 2016
Naked
A great one said, and it is clearly recorded for all to see,
“I do not wear clothes when the beloved sleeps with me”.
He meant of course I do not try conceal my soul’s essence,
But meet the Soul of souls devoid of any guile or pretence.
And do you think it will be otherwise for you dear reader,
However much you have trained to be an excuse pleader.
When on the great plain you stand alone awaiting judgement.
Surely then you will understand what that noble one meant.
I Have Traversed
I have traversed the field of shame and confusion,
Walked the way of arrogance to its conclusion,
Travelled the route of lust leading to perdition,
And with greed had many a secret assignation.
Laziness has been my occasional occupation,
Anger too has given a show for my delectation.
What I found in all this was the Divine Perfection,
For all of it yields at last to Love’s holy purification.
You and Me
I prayed, and finally it was just you and me, my Friend,
Just when I had begun to think there would be no end;
No end to the companionship you daily sent my way,
No end to desire for love words you taught me to say.
But now I wonder, to pray for me, was it right to do,
Even though I asked for the company of only You?
It’s better to do what I tell every son and daughter,
Just to show gratitude and let You be the Decider.
The Avenue
Down a shady avenue lined with many a leafy tree,
We travelled slowly, my horse, my dog, and me.
Shadows danced from leaves stirring in the breeze,
Dappled sunlight played a game of ‘show and tease’,
Love was in the very air or at least it seemed to be.
Contentment turned a dusty road to gold so easily.
In the rustling leaves good words were whisper’ed,
A song of purity and bliss touched heart and head.
The goal travelled toward seemed far away, and yet,
It was as if I had arrived where only lovers can get,
I make no claim to know anything not revealed by You,
But something in my head and in my soft heart knew.
Something told me this was true and this was right,
This the road, that the sky, and above the sun so bright.
We took our time passing along that great golden road,
Though ahead a better and more radiant future glowed.
Down that shady avenue lined with many a leafy tree,
We travelled slowly, my horse, my dog, and me.
I Would
Ah, I would work and walk if I was able,
If, instead of being lovesick, I was stable,
But your words and looks turn me over,
And your wine leaves me under the table.
Your expressions open up so much possibility,
They make me reel and rock unexpectedly.
I would find a way back to being more sober,
But your sun shines on me so continuously.
You divest yourself of respectability, every shred,
To wayward love so flagrantly leads all you said,
Tell me what the hope is for a poor drunk lover,
Other than to go inevitably to where love has led.
I Recall May Days
I recall days of May when a cloud would have been welcome,
The long days of May when only the sun was certain to come.
I recall the prison cells and a thousand modalities of the mind,
That played out their mythical fantasies of many a varied kind.
I recall the wildness and desperation, and the illumination too,
That made for moments of beatitude amidst the thoughts of you.
I did not fight in a war with guns it is true, but I fought anyway.
My metal was not tested like dad, but was tested another way.
That the mind was such a vulnerable machine, I didn’t know,
Or else I would not have played such foolish games with it so.
I lost a lot that sunny May but gained far more in another way,
For at last I found my path and love that with me would stay.
I would not wish that such a rough path you should walk upon,
But I also cannot offer only strewn roses, with every pain gone.
Love is not the soft option most imagine or would like it to be,
It is torment and despair and hardship that turns into ecstasy.
May 26th 2017
Ramadan gathers itself and is ready to blow down,
So many flimsy houses that stand on shifting sand;
Ready to dress the shining soul in a splendid gown,
Ready to bring many a lost vessel to a fertile land.
An Eid Song
The days of fasting are passing,
The days begin now of celebrating.
The days of love and of loving,
The days of constant remembering;
The days of our eternal feasting,
On the love He is forever giving.
The Theatre of Allah
The theatre of Allah is a constant but unseen show,
Unseen except by those He has made in the know.
The theatre of Allah has a grand and unique cast,
The truth of events there is known only at the last.
The theatre of Allah tells stories quite extraordinary,
Though the audience are souls, just like you and me.
The conscious mind really has no idea its going on,
Only a few, on whose vision Allah’s light has shone.
If you would like to be one, be constant in following,
The message His messenger in perpetuity is giving.
Sentinels
Sweet scented sentinels of a happy hour,
That flower and fade. A passing shower;
A burst of sunlight driving the grey away;
A smile that lingers, but does not stay;
A glance that touches the heart so silently;
A breeze that moves the curtain suddenly.
These simple things give a new life to me,
Like the thought of you, waiting so patiently.
The Purpose
What is the purpose of pain if not some ultimate gain,
This is very clear to the seeker time and time again.
Lord you have the capacity to free us when you please,
Lord tell us with all this difficulty why then do you tease.
Day after day I am reminded we are ever in your power,
Come turn our longing thoughts into the heart’s flower.
This life is passing away from the moment we are born,
Help us make it worthwhile then, this transient sojourn.
Death waits round the corner ready to play his part I know,
Only Love has the power to nurture the seeds that we sow.
Restless
Restless,
As if invaded by some strange unease,
Though I seem to do whatever I please,
Restless,
Some unspecified need seems to be insistent,
Though externally everything remains silent.
Restless,
As if there is something calling out to me,
Invisible, intangible, though it seems to be.
Restless,
The currents that move the mighty sea,
Are also moving something inside of me.
Restless,
Till I reach out and feel you are there,
Then peace descends again everywhere.
Wistful
Wistful, sad, silent, and somewhat sullen maybe,
This state of mind and heart you bequeathed to me.
The feeling of your love encompassing my being,
Has become a memory no longer something living.
The longing in my heart does not depart or go away
Though about it there is nothing that I can really say.
The way of love is for few, yes for very few indeed,
Few the horses that can gallop at that kind of speed.
Come my heart is ready; in need I am only of you,
Take me the way you like and as you used to do.
Come it’s you I want, words will no longer do for me,
Beloved take this sullen lover up at once, instantly.
Rain
Love fell like fine rain; it’s something I can’t explain,
It’s a state of mind and heart only the lover can attain.
When you have given everything you have or you own,
Only then real love to you becomes familiar and known.
I wish I could say it’s easy to attain, a choice to be made,
But it’s a closed door, if of commitment you are afraid.
The lovers of Divinity, by whatever road it is they came,
Gambled their very life for the sake of that great game.
If you are afraid now and can’t take a single step farther,
You have some sober wisdom, and good sense moreover.
You have to be a Majnun if it’s the love of Laila you seek,
Otherwise of love and of loving its best you do not speak
Deeply Dark
Deeply dark the night and bright the light,
That from a myriad stars filled my sight,
My questing sight, that wanted to see,
At least a slight hint of the divine mystery.
It was many years before I came to know,
The implication concealed in that fine show.
They come and go, minutes, hours, and days,
Months and years, even a decade never stays.
But then you showed the nature of your mercy,
You changed me so suddenly and completely.
I put down the burden of foolishness at last,
And myself into your hands completely I cast.
Now love rolls out like a great grand red carpet,
In constant anticipation that your visit I will get.
The beloved knows countless tales and stories,
And will tell them all when and how it pleases.
Deeply dark the night and bright the light,
That from a myriad stars filled my sight.
Inspire
Come inspire me with words that drip with honey,
Enough of this talk of cars, jewellery and of money.
Come make me quicken with the feeling love gives,
When with union and close proximity the lover lives.
Come let words slip, slide and take off from the page,
Let the youth called love be our wise and worthy sage;
Drink here and now the tumblers full of heavenly joy.
Do not delay and only vain promises painfully employ,
Come, love is not a green field in the next meadow,
It is heavenly joy that comes to those waiting below;
That comes here and now whenever the master smiles,
Who with the Beloved sits and beholds all our trials.
Come, love is not transient game that passes away,
It is all eternity that can be experienced only today.
Tall Trees
Tall trees tower over lovers as they linger,
In the shadowy forest glade.
Tall trees chuckle, or just look on, or even glower,
But do not deny their shade.
They have seen this passing show many times before,
Seen love's game played,
Seen the smiles, the looks, the hands held and more.
Seen but silent have stayed.
Humanity is both a transient display of feeling,
That is not long enduring,
And eternity, that time is constantly enfolding,
In love's passionate longing.
Tall trees would penetrate the clouds if they could,
To see shafts of sunlight smile,
But such moments are beyond the reach of wood,
Only lovers go the extra mile.
Tall trees and longing looks linger on in me,
They come into my mind,
When I lie at ease, and on the sofa of purity,
To love thoughts I am inclined.
Mystic Musing
So much ardent longing, so much sweet love,
A power-filled hand in a long white linen glove.
Fingers that tell a subtle story hidden to most,
How few know the tale of the guest and host.
Such control the unseen can so easily exert,
The accumulated wealth of the empty desert.
Mystic references the reader can never unearth,
Unless divinity has given that seeker a new birth.
I could tell tales of the holy Prophet and Hazrat Ali,
Even the wanderings of the ego remain no mystery.
If I held a gun to your head you might think twice,
If a lion I let roar you might find that far from nice.
Enough of scarcely concealed vice and of infidelity,
Surrender heart, mind and even body to this beauty.
Penitence
A long list of their faults the penitent must know,
But to all and sundry this they should not show.
That list is for the beloved alone who already knows,
For to that One the secret of every action goes.
Do not restrain yourself from devastating fidelity,
What I mean is this; be truthful and truth loving be.
Cleanse your heart of every self deception and of pride,
Until you are an empty bag, with nothing else left inside.
The pain is rather like that felt by the would be suicide,
But don’t do that with your body, that’s just more pride.
Instead make that ‘corpse’ serve a purpose that is higher,
The Divine Will watches to see if your behaviour is better.
If it is you will feel the greatest moment of His mercy
And every vile sin will become perfected belatedly.
Innocence
Innocence ran towards me like a child, laughing gaily,
So many gifts God has given since that child left me.
Child of my heart your love you bestow on me freely,
With you I roam in the garden of delights so joyfully.
There are those who think wisdom they have found,
Let them wile away their time and call it profound.
There are those who follow their own sour nature,
Eating up the time between now and their departure.
I cannot harbour any bad feeling towards such children,
They do what they can with what it is that God has given.
My time must be spent in gratitude for His great largesse,
That He with love this heart, mind and hand should bless.
Lit-up
Your love lit something in me and it keeps burning,
In my heart I sense in your heart you are turning.
Love cannot be described nor has it any limitation,
Every kind of situation shapes itself to its dictation.
Don’t think of it as emotion or an intellectual exercise,
Nor is it the bodies excitement, it’s a far greater prize.
It’s been described as a gift of the divinity by the wise,
For the sincere seeker that should come as no surprise.
All I can say is your turning inside turned me your way,
And to that great love it is just not possible to say “Nay”.
Silent as the Night
Silent as the night your feet glide towards my door,
Gentle as moonlight you are knocking on my door.
Fiercely, as a lover should, you hold me tight,
Together from this old world we take our flight.
I would say more of the delight we both feel,
But to drunken lovers words do not appeal.
It is enough that we kneel before love’s might,
That like starlight shows us the path to delight;
Until the dawn song makes night gather its clothes,
And into eternal memory subtly and silently it goes.
who has travelled successfully has another way.
Greed
A little after midnight greed came to my door,
I said to greed, “What is it that you are looking for?”
“Do you have no place” that wild one said to me,
“For this night wanderer; no kind of hospitality?”
She was wet and windswept, bedraggled, crazed,
But by every kind of wise one hospitality is praised.
And though I knew about her intoxicating way,
I opened the door and told her she could stay.
Once inside she started to show her artful wiles,
Gave me such glances and such seductive smiles.
“I am not quite the fool you take me for”, I said,
“Too many by you to destruction have been led.
But if you will do me one service you can stay”.
She smiled, “Okay - I will do whatever you say”.
I told her of my beloved, beyond any comparison,
And to use her charms only in that one’s direction.”
So now greed stays with me as my companion,
And when I lapse in giving my beloved attention,
In her wild and wanton manner she rescues me,
And toward the desired one drags me easily.
Together
The merging of mind and mind is a possibility,
Two heads sharing one thought unexpectedly.
Heart to heart however happens wordlessly,
The images that surface both hearts can see.
Beyond that though there is something better,
Two travellers in another dimension together.
Yes I can recall when that was me with you,
Travelling beyond imagination to what is true.
It is Love that has the power to bring this about,
Love that in heart and mind silences any doubt
Wise Words
May all these wise quotations equip you to find,
The thing you seek – the inner peace in the mind.
For wise words to lead you to that promised land,
Let everything go except for the beloved’s hand.
When on one hand you come to completely depend,
May the only Independent One’s love on you descend.
Deep Thought
A deep thought pursued, concentrated effort in the mind,
This can be followed by a surge of so much inner delight;
That it is very tempting to revel in it, you may well find;
But it’s more valuable if instead you return to the fight.
.......................
When the soul of a saint shifts the furniture in your mind,
Though disturbing, a better way of living you may find.
Not by thought explained nor yet by dictionary defined,
These subtleties are shown only to the heart that’s refined.
.......................
Restless waves beneath a full moon’s perfect pure light;
Untold sparkling gems; a solitary, serene and holy sight.
The religion of real love is aloof and so far above,
Every religious sect and every other form of love.
.......................
Dreams and visions are far from easy to explain,
Consistency in this even Prophets did not attain.
Very often a good augury may appear to be bad,
Therefore do not let them make you angry or sad.
Refer what is seen in them to the All-mighty instead,
Deeper than such images is what’s really in your head.
Why Do You Sleep?
Why do you sleep so soundly? Go on get up,
Take a deep drink of wine from the loving cup.
True it is, sleep has a subtle style of seduction,
But it does not compare with love in action.
Fill this heart with something more satisfying,
I mean, become once more one of the living;
Better grief and sorrow than being half dead!
To this conclusion by love I have been led.
Engage once again in the constant to and fro,
That only the beloved’s true lovers really know.
White clouds accumulate, the wind is stirring,
Giving notice that something special is coming,
In those clouds maybe they are making ready,
A toe curling brew; a potion that’s so heady,
That you will surely lose all sense of being you,
And end up floating like those clouds in the blue.
Nov 2016
Naked
A great one said, and it is clearly recorded for all to see,
“I do not wear clothes when the beloved sleeps with me”.
He meant of course I do not try conceal my soul’s essence,
But meet the Soul of souls devoid of any guile or pretence.
And do you think it will be otherwise for you dear reader,
However much you have trained to be an excuse pleader.
When on the great plain you stand alone awaiting judgement.
Surely then you will understand what that noble one meant.
I Have Traversed
I have traversed the field of shame and confusion,
Walked the way of arrogance to its conclusion,
Travelled the route of lust leading to perdition,
And with greed had many a secret assignation.
Laziness has been my occasional occupation,
Anger too has given a show for my delectation.
What I found in all this was the Divine Perfection,
For all of it yields at last to Love’s holy purification.
You and Me
I prayed, and finally it was just you and me, my Friend,
Just when I had begun to think there would be no end;
No end to the companionship you daily sent my way,
No end to desire for love words you taught me to say.
But now I wonder, to pray for me, was it right to do,
Even though I asked for the company of only You?
It’s better to do what I tell every son and daughter,
Just to show gratitude and let You be the Decider.
The Avenue
Down a shady avenue lined with many a leafy tree,
We travelled slowly, my horse, my dog, and me.
Shadows danced from leaves stirring in the breeze,
Dappled sunlight played a game of ‘show and tease’,
Love was in the very air or at least it seemed to be.
Contentment turned a dusty road to gold so easily.
In the rustling leaves good words were whisper’ed,
A song of purity and bliss touched heart and head.
The goal travelled toward seemed far away, and yet,
It was as if I had arrived where only lovers can get,
I make no claim to know anything not revealed by You,
But something in my head and in my soft heart knew.
Something told me this was true and this was right,
This the road, that the sky, and above the sun so bright.
We took our time passing along that great golden road,
Though ahead a better and more radiant future glowed.
Down that shady avenue lined with many a leafy tree,
We travelled slowly, my horse, my dog, and me.
I Would
Ah, I would work and walk if I was able,
If, instead of being lovesick, I was stable,
But your words and looks turn me over,
And your wine leaves me under the table.
Your expressions open up so much possibility,
They make me reel and rock unexpectedly.
I would find a way back to being more sober,
But your sun shines on me so continuously.
You divest yourself of respectability, every shred,
To wayward love so flagrantly leads all you said,
Tell me what the hope is for a poor drunk lover,
Other than to go inevitably to where love has led.
I Recall May Days
I recall days of May when a cloud would have been welcome,
The long days of May when only the sun was certain to come.
I recall the prison cells and a thousand modalities of the mind,
That played out their mythical fantasies of many a varied kind.
I recall the wildness and desperation, and the illumination too,
That made for moments of beatitude amidst the thoughts of you.
I did not fight in a war with guns it is true, but I fought anyway.
My metal was not tested like dad, but was tested another way.
That the mind was such a vulnerable machine, I didn’t know,
Or else I would not have played such foolish games with it so.
I lost a lot that sunny May but gained far more in another way,
For at last I found my path and love that with me would stay.
I would not wish that such a rough path you should walk upon,
But I also cannot offer only strewn roses, with every pain gone.
Love is not the soft option most imagine or would like it to be,
It is torment and despair and hardship that turns into ecstasy.
May 26th 2017
Ramadan gathers itself and is ready to blow down,
So many flimsy houses that stand on shifting sand;
Ready to dress the shining soul in a splendid gown,
Ready to bring many a lost vessel to a fertile land.
An Eid Song
The days of fasting are passing,
The days begin now of celebrating.
The days of love and of loving,
The days of constant remembering;
The days of our eternal feasting,
On the love He is forever giving.
The Theatre of Allah
The theatre of Allah is a constant but unseen show,
Unseen except by those He has made in the know.
The theatre of Allah has a grand and unique cast,
The truth of events there is known only at the last.
The theatre of Allah tells stories quite extraordinary,
Though the audience are souls, just like you and me.
The conscious mind really has no idea its going on,
Only a few, on whose vision Allah’s light has shone.
If you would like to be one, be constant in following,
The message His messenger in perpetuity is giving.
Sentinels
Sweet scented sentinels of a happy hour,
That flower and fade. A passing shower;
A burst of sunlight driving the grey away;
A smile that lingers, but does not stay;
A glance that touches the heart so silently;
A breeze that moves the curtain suddenly.
These simple things give a new life to me,
Like the thought of you, waiting so patiently.
The Purpose
What is the purpose of pain if not some ultimate gain,
This is very clear to the seeker time and time again.
Lord you have the capacity to free us when you please,
Lord tell us with all this difficulty why then do you tease.
Day after day I am reminded we are ever in your power,
Come turn our longing thoughts into the heart’s flower.
This life is passing away from the moment we are born,
Help us make it worthwhile then, this transient sojourn.
Death waits round the corner ready to play his part I know,
Only Love has the power to nurture the seeds that we sow.
Restless
Restless,
As if invaded by some strange unease,
Though I seem to do whatever I please,
Restless,
Some unspecified need seems to be insistent,
Though externally everything remains silent.
Restless,
As if there is something calling out to me,
Invisible, intangible, though it seems to be.
Restless,
The currents that move the mighty sea,
Are also moving something inside of me.
Restless,
Till I reach out and feel you are there,
Then peace descends again everywhere.
Wistful
Wistful, sad, silent, and somewhat sullen maybe,
This state of mind and heart you bequeathed to me.
The feeling of your love encompassing my being,
Has become a memory no longer something living.
The longing in my heart does not depart or go away
Though about it there is nothing that I can really say.
The way of love is for few, yes for very few indeed,
Few the horses that can gallop at that kind of speed.
Come my heart is ready; in need I am only of you,
Take me the way you like and as you used to do.
Come it’s you I want, words will no longer do for me,
Beloved take this sullen lover up at once, instantly.
Rain
Love fell like fine rain; it’s something I can’t explain,
It’s a state of mind and heart only the lover can attain.
When you have given everything you have or you own,
Only then real love to you becomes familiar and known.
I wish I could say it’s easy to attain, a choice to be made,
But it’s a closed door, if of commitment you are afraid.
The lovers of Divinity, by whatever road it is they came,
Gambled their very life for the sake of that great game.
If you are afraid now and can’t take a single step farther,
You have some sober wisdom, and good sense moreover.
You have to be a Majnun if it’s the love of Laila you seek,
Otherwise of love and of loving its best you do not speak
Deeply Dark
Deeply dark the night and bright the light,
That from a myriad stars filled my sight,
My questing sight, that wanted to see,
At least a slight hint of the divine mystery.
It was many years before I came to know,
The implication concealed in that fine show.
They come and go, minutes, hours, and days,
Months and years, even a decade never stays.
But then you showed the nature of your mercy,
You changed me so suddenly and completely.
I put down the burden of foolishness at last,
And myself into your hands completely I cast.
Now love rolls out like a great grand red carpet,
In constant anticipation that your visit I will get.
The beloved knows countless tales and stories,
And will tell them all when and how it pleases.
Deeply dark the night and bright the light,
That from a myriad stars filled my sight.
Inspire
Come inspire me with words that drip with honey,
Enough of this talk of cars, jewellery and of money.
Come make me quicken with the feeling love gives,
When with union and close proximity the lover lives.
Come let words slip, slide and take off from the page,
Let the youth called love be our wise and worthy sage;
Drink here and now the tumblers full of heavenly joy.
Do not delay and only vain promises painfully employ,
Come, love is not a green field in the next meadow,
It is heavenly joy that comes to those waiting below;
That comes here and now whenever the master smiles,
Who with the Beloved sits and beholds all our trials.
Come, love is not transient game that passes away,
It is all eternity that can be experienced only today.
Tall Trees
Tall trees tower over lovers as they linger,
In the shadowy forest glade.
Tall trees chuckle, or just look on, or even glower,
But do not deny their shade.
They have seen this passing show many times before,
Seen love's game played,
Seen the smiles, the looks, the hands held and more.
Seen but silent have stayed.
Humanity is both a transient display of feeling,
That is not long enduring,
And eternity, that time is constantly enfolding,
In love's passionate longing.
Tall trees would penetrate the clouds if they could,
To see shafts of sunlight smile,
But such moments are beyond the reach of wood,
Only lovers go the extra mile.
Tall trees and longing looks linger on in me,
They come into my mind,
When I lie at ease, and on the sofa of purity,
To love thoughts I am inclined.
Mystic Musing
So much ardent longing, so much sweet love,
A power-filled hand in a long white linen glove.
Fingers that tell a subtle story hidden to most,
How few know the tale of the guest and host.
Such control the unseen can so easily exert,
The accumulated wealth of the empty desert.
Mystic references the reader can never unearth,
Unless divinity has given that seeker a new birth.
I could tell tales of the holy Prophet and Hazrat Ali,
Even the wanderings of the ego remain no mystery.
If I held a gun to your head you might think twice,
If a lion I let roar you might find that far from nice.
Enough of scarcely concealed vice and of infidelity,
Surrender heart, mind and even body to this beauty.
Penitence
A long list of their faults the penitent must know,
But to all and sundry this they should not show.
That list is for the beloved alone who already knows,
For to that One the secret of every action goes.
Do not restrain yourself from devastating fidelity,
What I mean is this; be truthful and truth loving be.
Cleanse your heart of every self deception and of pride,
Until you are an empty bag, with nothing else left inside.
The pain is rather like that felt by the would be suicide,
But don’t do that with your body, that’s just more pride.
Instead make that ‘corpse’ serve a purpose that is higher,
The Divine Will watches to see if your behaviour is better.
If it is you will feel the greatest moment of His mercy
And every vile sin will become perfected belatedly.
Innocence
Innocence ran towards me like a child, laughing gaily,
So many gifts God has given since that child left me.
Child of my heart your love you bestow on me freely,
With you I roam in the garden of delights so joyfully.
There are those who think wisdom they have found,
Let them wile away their time and call it profound.
There are those who follow their own sour nature,
Eating up the time between now and their departure.
I cannot harbour any bad feeling towards such children,
They do what they can with what it is that God has given.
My time must be spent in gratitude for His great largesse,
That He with love this heart, mind and hand should bless.
Lit-up
Your love lit something in me and it keeps burning,
In my heart I sense in your heart you are turning.
Love cannot be described nor has it any limitation,
Every kind of situation shapes itself to its dictation.
Don’t think of it as emotion or an intellectual exercise,
Nor is it the bodies excitement, it’s a far greater prize.
It’s been described as a gift of the divinity by the wise,
For the sincere seeker that should come as no surprise.
All I can say is your turning inside turned me your way,
And to that great love it is just not possible to say “Nay”.
Silent as the Night
Silent as the night your feet glide towards my door,
Gentle as moonlight you are knocking on my door.
Fiercely, as a lover should, you hold me tight,
Together from this old world we take our flight.
I would say more of the delight we both feel,
But to drunken lovers words do not appeal.
It is enough that we kneel before love’s might,
That like starlight shows us the path to delight;
Until the dawn song makes night gather its clothes,
And into eternal memory subtly and silently it goes.
Poet's Corner Section Twenty-three Miscellaneous verses by Jamiluddin Morris Zahuri |
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15th November 2016
I heard the news today, this very day,
That Allah’s love took Ali Baba away.
What can I say? Tell me what can I do?
O Lord, now for sure he dwells with You.
Now myriad roses bloom in his garden,
For a saint laying down his body burden;
A bloom for each loving smile he gave.
Ah it’s only his dust that is in the grave.
O Sufi
O Sufi, don’t go on frowning deep inside,
Your sins are forgiven and even your pride;
Your burdens are not your own anymore,
Since you were raised up as one of the poor.
Now your labour and love’s labour are one,
So like the kindly sun, smile on everyone.
Light Breeze
Sunlight falls on leaves that tremble in a light breeze,
Barely enough to make a delicate dandelion sneeze.
They come and go – pleasurable moments like these,
When the beloved’s veil slips for a moment, to please.
A Lot of Poetry
I thought I had written rather a lot of poetry,
Then You showed not in words but in reality,
The uncountable poems you write constantly,
The few my pen catch are but a gift from – Ya Ali.
When at Last
When all those lies at last unravel,
On the day that must come to all,
You will find that the love you knew,
Was all that in your life was really true.
When the brittle structure of deception,
You built to keep out real affection,
Crumbles and falls; you will start to see,
The love in the heart that burns fiercely.
When in the dark and dreary death room,
A light dispels the deepening gloom,
It will become as clear as day to you,
That there Love is, and always was, too.
Like the subtle mists of late November,
Love will enter and you will remember.
Remember, the bond of a love that is forever,
Yes, then at last you really will remember.
O Lord
O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, it’s all for You, for You, for You,
Whatever we extol in song or verse it’s all for You,
There is nothing in the universe not celebrating You,
No sphere of activity anywhere that is not ruled by You.
O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, it’s all for You, for You, for You,
Whatever we extol in song or verse it’s all for You,
Endless is the love that flows from You, from You.
Endless is the love that draws us back to You, to You.
O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, it’s all for You, for You, for You,
Whatever we extol in song or verse its all for You,
You alone know and will say what in us is true’
On that great day when at last we meet with You,
O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, it’s all for You, for You, for You,
Whatever we extol in song or verse its all for You,
Its you alone we serve, and we turn only to You,
To ask for guidance to a way that leads straight to You
O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, it’s all for You, for You, for You,
Whatever we extol in song or verse its all for You,
Show us how to be pleasing to You, to You, to You,
And how to avoid an angry look from You, from You.
O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, it’s all for You, for You, for You,
Whatever we extol in song or verse it’s all for You,
Listen
Listen to the silence of the desert with longing,
And innocent children’s chatter you may hear.
If on the breeze their happy words are arriving,
Hear whatever they say, but without any fear.
There Are Moments
There are moments when I feel your love so strongly,
I would give all I have to you quite happily and freely.
Then there are moments when that feeling disappears,
And all I can feel are a catalogue of worries and fears.
“Patience”, I hear myself say, “and don’t forget to pray,
Nor lose sight of ‘The best is, whatever comes my way’”.
You touch the very core of me, when you come near,
Albeit, in other’s eyes, differently things may appear.
If there is a cure for love and its many manifestations,
It is not to be found in any wise man’s explanations.
Satisfaction in fulfilment is not an option on the table,
For desire is a requirement for the one who is capable,
Of travelling all the way from here to truly ‘being here’.
At the height of spirituality the noblest one* only drew near,
And even the highest angel** feared that he would burn.
Then that one took the compassionate way of return;
So love’s completion is restlessness or an act of resignation,
To serving the needs of an unwise and unholy generation.
*The holy Prophet Muhammed who came 'within two bows length' of God.
** Angel Gabriel who was his companion.
Love
Where are the lovers? Where indeed is love?
Nowhere and everywhere, below and above?
To right and to left, or before and behind?
In the body, in the heart or only in the mind?
There is no location nor yet any definition,
That can give any satisfactory explanation.
Nor is love the sole possession of any nation,
Nor of any sect or any religious denomination.
It can’t be learned by any amount of education,
Nor found by any effort or sheer determination.
It starts where morality and righteousness end,
But in it none can see a beginning or an end.
The most that can be said is that it is a gift, divine,
But who can say boldly that the gift of love is mine?
It can’t be owned, it is not a kind of property,
And yet it is the possessor of every devotee.
Every word I write about Love is foolishness,
When
When the love of Allah crossed the boundary,
And became the love that binds you and me,
The sight of Allah became more than theory;
It was firm and fast, endowed with permanency.
Come touch with the mind the concrete reality,
Of becoming one; of being one, with His unity.
Then you will know with the clearest certainty,
His reality is more than concept, its actuality.
And if doubt and diffidence linger in the mind,
Come, and in our love the real conviction find.
As substantial as breakfast on a sunny morning,
As present as the sunlight on your face falling.
Come, and in love find the waiting answer,
Make love your heartfelt and pure prayer.
Come, for to hear what your heart may utter,
In the dawn orison, the Beloved waits there.
When the Lover
When the lover sat in the branches of this tree,
And sang songs of such sweet love and ecstasy,
Every branch flowered, every twig felt the felicity
Joy reached the roots, when the lover sang to me.
The lover wanted to know what this love is, really,
That makes the breast burst into song so joyfully?
The silence of the beloved was to be the only answer,
In that eternal silent sound the lover sings forever.
Come do not decline to share a glass of wine with me,
I have lost all sense of whether I am bird or patient tree.
Let us get so drunk that those who are really in the know,
Shrug their shoulders at our love and simply say – “So”.
Let love and wayward lovelorn behaviour have their day,
Until the final curtain is drawn back, with us let it stay.
The pious to their piety and the wise to their wisdom,
For us let there be love alone and the lover’s kingdom.
I have heard reason speak in eloquent disagreement,
I have seen your wings flutter, unsure of my intent.
The tree stays where it was planted in pre-eternity,
Love-seeking birds come and go; some sing sweetly.
Your Eyes
Your eyes speak of longing for a better - a more real life,
Though you appear to have no reason for woe or for strife,
The love that’s buried deep in your heart wants you to feel,
It’s need to grow and blossom and become a rose that’s real.
Come, diverted from the path of truth and beauty do not be,
Know love gives no ease ‘til there is no more ‘you’ and ‘me’.
Astounded
It astounded me that in the end love was so real and so concrete,
Not words, images, dreams, or fantasies that time could delete.
Not dependent on this or that, or him or her, or any other thing,
But like every new day something that just keeps on returning.
Love is always by transient and temporary illusions concealed,
But when these pass, like clouds, it remains naked and revealed.
A deep blue sky that has no end to be discerned, nor a beginning,
Love knows nothing of games that end with losing or winning.
If love has not yet touched your life except with vague yearning,
Brother, sister, friend or any other, do not be lost and despairing.
Cloudy days do not last forever, sit and watch and wait patiently,
The concrete reality of love came in the end, and it astounded me.
Empty
Such an empty space in the depth of the heart has lain,
Such a pain, yet not a pain that anyone could explain.
No way out! It’s as if love itself has made you empty,
“Drink deep, drink long” are the only words from me.
Let tears flow fast and freely if you are able to do so,
Feel it, that emptiness that you think will never ever go.
Its hurts – not like a pain in elbow or eye; just emptiness!
The birth of real love attached to none – just His “is-ness”.
I could tell you that one day it will make you feel so free,
But it’s not the time and you wouldn’t really believe me.
Now you feel the pain of Hafiz, of Mevlana; of every lover,
In the holy Prophet’s two hands there is a salve however.
May it be that your destiny brings this relief to you,
May it be that you will feel at last the love that’s true.
A Lone Rose
Sweet scent from a lone pink rose filled the entire bower,
The untended garden shone, from a single short shower,
Love filled the heart that for union with verse was longing,
That nothing else mattered, at last the lover was knowing.
Love Thoughts
It just came my way, the impulse to write some poetry!
Is it indulgence, or unfulfilled love overpowering me?
And whose love is it anyway, wanting to have a say,
A lover lost in intensity, who for love alone can pray?
I wish I could speak of it with some sense of certainty,
But that feeling just keeps on wanting to overcome me.
If, lost in the heat of a deep passionate plea, it is a lover,
Be reassured it is touching the beloved within however.
When lover and beloved have reached the point of unity,
There is only love, no more you and me or even poetry.
Rain
The rain came, so of course the garden got wet,
And all the flowers appeared to be in a sweat.
What to say? It happens like that once in a while,
The gardener can do nothing but patiently smile.
The Muse
She was clothed only in poetry’s pure passion,
Though I saw her but in a momentary vision.
Sublimate the desire for outward expression,
An open love-filled heart is the soul’s fashion.
Spring
Yes, this life is short enough, that’s for sure,
Yet spring comes around again and again;
Every time it was new and fresh and pure,
Every time from decay it could not abstain.
The Eternal spring is in a true lover’s heart,
One who from the Beloved could never part.
Love Sat with Me
Love sat with me and said, “I am more than heart and head,
Indeed I carry off everything, and this all the lovers have said.
If there is any connection inside you to any other than to me,
Then that attachment is not my friend, and it is your enemy.
Come, and I will empty your heart, your body and your head;
Only I will remain when everyone and everything has fled.”
Love took me up to where only angels and pure souls can meet,
And amongst those holy, brightly-lit ones I was granted a seat.
There what I saw only the Beloved One can in reality reveal,
There I learnt about fantasy, imagination and about the Real.
There universal governance became evident in its divine simplicity,
There I came to know the universe’s deeply concealed mystery.
You can hold your breath if you like, but you won’t get from me,
More than a hint of that supreme, unelected, perfect symmetry,
By which the Ruler unfolds His absolute unlimited perfection;
By which the Manifesting One makes manifest His creation.
It is not given to us to reveal concealed mysteries, by command,
Nor to satisfy the curious when they insist on making this demand.
I know that for attention thousands and thousands of theories compete,
A clever head is full of such stuff, a simple one is sooner made replete.
Those heads theorise in the darkness about the existence of the light,
The enlightened just blink a bit and some even find it a bit too bright.
If you can’t take my word for the things I say, though they are true,
Its fine, just pass on to some theory, and my good wishes go with you.
Curtains
The velvet curtains parted, almost at a touch, willingly,
Sunlight and sight of the garden streamed in joyfully.
My vision walked amidst that sun-soaked flaming flora,
In every sense, drinking in scent and rich ripe colour.
That perfect paradise was not enough to last forever,
But say, in such a place how should I not want to linger?
I Cannot Pretend
I cannot pretend to be other than I am, a curious mixture,
With divine and very human features, a complex creature.
A reader of abstract theory and of my own human nature.
Capable of transcending both and of falling prey to either.
Divine love at times flows out from me in every direction,
At times it manifests only in my own transient satisfaction.
An eagle living amongst domesticated fowls, at times I am,
At others, soaring above clouds into the blue beyond I am.
I could simply say “All power is Yours, You made me this way”
But You gave me choices and taught me how to really pray.
A great light descended into the darkness of this one’s day,
Overcoming with its power what my own nature had to say.
“Do with me as you Will”, is all human nature can hope for,
Divinity however so many options can continue to explore.
Let me put aside all the doubts and disquieting imagination,
Let me put aside both fear and endless kinds of temptation.
Instead for every single action let me find Your kind sanction,
In Your love let me die and so live forever in Your satisfaction.
In My Mind
You were in my mind and heart and I longed for you.
When you didn’t come I just didn’t know what to do,
Neither fantasy nor imagination could create you!
I became restless not certain what I should try to do.
At long last the wine you like to serve came my way,
Now I desire only your eternal love and for this I pray.
Sleepless
You twist and turn throughout the long night,
But sleep won’t come so you can’t take flight.
The longing for union fills with fire every cell;
Desperation, confusion, and yes, love as well.
The secret is inside, but you cannot know it,
Unless the Divinity kindly decides to show it.
Empty yourself of everything that comes along,
Listen! Try to hear One who sings love’s song.
Drunk
So subtle, so insidious, is the reasoning of the rational mind,
In it an end to poetry, to passion, and yes, even to love I find.
I will not heed its sensible advice that leads the soul to die,
Its reasoned approach to life my lovelorn heart would defy.
I care not for the voice of the sober falling on my ears,
I know a life with love is better than a life of many years.
I know it is far finer to be one drunk on the wine of union,
Than to be a solid citizen of sanctity when you have gone.
Come, wine of love, accept my surrender, my resignation,
Make your pervasive intoxication my enduring situation.
Love Came
Love came and slept with me today,
I dreamt of you is what I mean to say.
We cannot really tell the way of dreams,
Especially those revealing love’s themes.
It’s enough to tell the expectant one,
That something good has just begun.
Dear Joseph’s story lingers on in the mind,
What struggles till his dream could unwind,
And in the world of deeds and actuality,
Its full meaning he could come to see.
Come love and unite the lover with me,
No more lover and beloved need there be.
And if we need to understand all of this,
Let it be enough to feel real love in a kiss.
There is only One and it has always been so,
The rest is real life drama and a grand show.
Sea Shore
Something came and picked me up, what can I say,
Love came again as it had come, on and off, all day.
It’s easy enough to forget those precious moments,
When in your company, love in speech and in silence,
Opened its arms, finding in this apparent ageing body,
An ever expanding, ever-growing fresh young psyche.
The rhythms of a quiet and calm sea lapped the shore,
Your presence kept on asking for more and yet more.
I could have drowned in the love from that company,
Instead I swam, and not alone, in the sea of harmony.
Femininity
I said my salaams to a young dark-haired beauty,
But that handsome one said nothing at all to me.
Of all the types of the female that a man may see,
One radiates just virile vigour, health and vitality,
Another is above the race of mere men altogether,
And looks at these slaves as if they just don’t matter.
It’s good that the Creator made such marked variety,
To catch the heart and imagination of one like me.
The strength and quality of a man’s masculinity,
Falls hopelessly before God-created femininity.
With Gratitude
With gratitude this heart of mine embraced,
That heart of yours and upon it a word traced.
The pulse raced, blood flooded body and face,
Nothing was hidden, between us was no space.
Our souls danced where only heaven we find;
Where suns and moons and stars are left behind.
I am inclined to romanticise its true, but tell me,
Was it different for you, that flight into ecstasy?
This old world is a cold place for hearts that burn,
To light it up with divine recollection it’s our turn.
My heart ached so much, it was so completely burned
Until the perfection of divine grace towards me turned.
The holy Prophet's love knows no limits, nor his mercy,
This he showed so clearly when he looked towards me.
My Dusky Beauty
My dusky beauty has a duty, to stroke my head,
To comb my hair whilst I lay so helpless in bed.
You may wonder how this can be tasawuuf,
But that dusky lady, her whole self she has shed,
The Mercy of the Merciful
The Mercy of the Merciful looked my way,
There was nothing of value a sinner could say.
In the silence my heart could only pray
May the Mercy of the Merciful forever stay,
The Sea of Your Love
The sea of your love surged and drowned the isle of my vanity,
I mean the illuminated ocean of Certainty overwhelmed me.
Poetry insisted on having its say, of course it would,
But I lay lingering in the arms of the sleep of selfhood.
The rise and fall of the breath of our so brief existence,
Led my conscious mind to the eternal solace of silence,
Where your loving salaam alone becomes apparent,
And even the bemused muse becomes still and silent.
Poetry Parcels
Parcels of poetry keep passing through my mind,
To the bin of “might have been” much is consigned;
But such fine words would not so easily let me go,
The seeds of love thoughts you continued to sow.
The love lamp that you ignite, whoever you are,
Shines daily like the sun, and nightly like a star.
Love, I am your prisoner, I cannot walk away,
You speak commands and I do what you say.
Yes, it’s crazy of course, you have blown my mind,
Yet somehow it is as if it’s all carefully designed.
I signed my own death certificate I guess,
When the love I had for you, I had to confess.
I heard the news today, this very day,
That Allah’s love took Ali Baba away.
What can I say? Tell me what can I do?
O Lord, now for sure he dwells with You.
Now myriad roses bloom in his garden,
For a saint laying down his body burden;
A bloom for each loving smile he gave.
Ah it’s only his dust that is in the grave.
O Sufi
O Sufi, don’t go on frowning deep inside,
Your sins are forgiven and even your pride;
Your burdens are not your own anymore,
Since you were raised up as one of the poor.
Now your labour and love’s labour are one,
So like the kindly sun, smile on everyone.
Light Breeze
Sunlight falls on leaves that tremble in a light breeze,
Barely enough to make a delicate dandelion sneeze.
They come and go – pleasurable moments like these,
When the beloved’s veil slips for a moment, to please.
A Lot of Poetry
I thought I had written rather a lot of poetry,
Then You showed not in words but in reality,
The uncountable poems you write constantly,
The few my pen catch are but a gift from – Ya Ali.
When at Last
When all those lies at last unravel,
On the day that must come to all,
You will find that the love you knew,
Was all that in your life was really true.
When the brittle structure of deception,
You built to keep out real affection,
Crumbles and falls; you will start to see,
The love in the heart that burns fiercely.
When in the dark and dreary death room,
A light dispels the deepening gloom,
It will become as clear as day to you,
That there Love is, and always was, too.
Like the subtle mists of late November,
Love will enter and you will remember.
Remember, the bond of a love that is forever,
Yes, then at last you really will remember.
O Lord
O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, it’s all for You, for You, for You,
Whatever we extol in song or verse it’s all for You,
There is nothing in the universe not celebrating You,
No sphere of activity anywhere that is not ruled by You.
O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, it’s all for You, for You, for You,
Whatever we extol in song or verse it’s all for You,
Endless is the love that flows from You, from You.
Endless is the love that draws us back to You, to You.
O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, it’s all for You, for You, for You,
Whatever we extol in song or verse its all for You,
You alone know and will say what in us is true’
On that great day when at last we meet with You,
O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, it’s all for You, for You, for You,
Whatever we extol in song or verse its all for You,
Its you alone we serve, and we turn only to You,
To ask for guidance to a way that leads straight to You
O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, it’s all for You, for You, for You,
Whatever we extol in song or verse its all for You,
Show us how to be pleasing to You, to You, to You,
And how to avoid an angry look from You, from You.
O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, it’s all for You, for You, for You,
Whatever we extol in song or verse it’s all for You,
Listen
Listen to the silence of the desert with longing,
And innocent children’s chatter you may hear.
If on the breeze their happy words are arriving,
Hear whatever they say, but without any fear.
There Are Moments
There are moments when I feel your love so strongly,
I would give all I have to you quite happily and freely.
Then there are moments when that feeling disappears,
And all I can feel are a catalogue of worries and fears.
“Patience”, I hear myself say, “and don’t forget to pray,
Nor lose sight of ‘The best is, whatever comes my way’”.
You touch the very core of me, when you come near,
Albeit, in other’s eyes, differently things may appear.
If there is a cure for love and its many manifestations,
It is not to be found in any wise man’s explanations.
Satisfaction in fulfilment is not an option on the table,
For desire is a requirement for the one who is capable,
Of travelling all the way from here to truly ‘being here’.
At the height of spirituality the noblest one* only drew near,
And even the highest angel** feared that he would burn.
Then that one took the compassionate way of return;
So love’s completion is restlessness or an act of resignation,
To serving the needs of an unwise and unholy generation.
*The holy Prophet Muhammed who came 'within two bows length' of God.
** Angel Gabriel who was his companion.
Love
Where are the lovers? Where indeed is love?
Nowhere and everywhere, below and above?
To right and to left, or before and behind?
In the body, in the heart or only in the mind?
There is no location nor yet any definition,
That can give any satisfactory explanation.
Nor is love the sole possession of any nation,
Nor of any sect or any religious denomination.
It can’t be learned by any amount of education,
Nor found by any effort or sheer determination.
It starts where morality and righteousness end,
But in it none can see a beginning or an end.
The most that can be said is that it is a gift, divine,
But who can say boldly that the gift of love is mine?
It can’t be owned, it is not a kind of property,
And yet it is the possessor of every devotee.
Every word I write about Love is foolishness,
When
When the love of Allah crossed the boundary,
And became the love that binds you and me,
The sight of Allah became more than theory;
It was firm and fast, endowed with permanency.
Come touch with the mind the concrete reality,
Of becoming one; of being one, with His unity.
Then you will know with the clearest certainty,
His reality is more than concept, its actuality.
And if doubt and diffidence linger in the mind,
Come, and in our love the real conviction find.
As substantial as breakfast on a sunny morning,
As present as the sunlight on your face falling.
Come, and in love find the waiting answer,
Make love your heartfelt and pure prayer.
Come, for to hear what your heart may utter,
In the dawn orison, the Beloved waits there.
When the Lover
When the lover sat in the branches of this tree,
And sang songs of such sweet love and ecstasy,
Every branch flowered, every twig felt the felicity
Joy reached the roots, when the lover sang to me.
The lover wanted to know what this love is, really,
That makes the breast burst into song so joyfully?
The silence of the beloved was to be the only answer,
In that eternal silent sound the lover sings forever.
Come do not decline to share a glass of wine with me,
I have lost all sense of whether I am bird or patient tree.
Let us get so drunk that those who are really in the know,
Shrug their shoulders at our love and simply say – “So”.
Let love and wayward lovelorn behaviour have their day,
Until the final curtain is drawn back, with us let it stay.
The pious to their piety and the wise to their wisdom,
For us let there be love alone and the lover’s kingdom.
I have heard reason speak in eloquent disagreement,
I have seen your wings flutter, unsure of my intent.
The tree stays where it was planted in pre-eternity,
Love-seeking birds come and go; some sing sweetly.
Your Eyes
Your eyes speak of longing for a better - a more real life,
Though you appear to have no reason for woe or for strife,
The love that’s buried deep in your heart wants you to feel,
It’s need to grow and blossom and become a rose that’s real.
Come, diverted from the path of truth and beauty do not be,
Know love gives no ease ‘til there is no more ‘you’ and ‘me’.
Astounded
It astounded me that in the end love was so real and so concrete,
Not words, images, dreams, or fantasies that time could delete.
Not dependent on this or that, or him or her, or any other thing,
But like every new day something that just keeps on returning.
Love is always by transient and temporary illusions concealed,
But when these pass, like clouds, it remains naked and revealed.
A deep blue sky that has no end to be discerned, nor a beginning,
Love knows nothing of games that end with losing or winning.
If love has not yet touched your life except with vague yearning,
Brother, sister, friend or any other, do not be lost and despairing.
Cloudy days do not last forever, sit and watch and wait patiently,
The concrete reality of love came in the end, and it astounded me.
Empty
Such an empty space in the depth of the heart has lain,
Such a pain, yet not a pain that anyone could explain.
No way out! It’s as if love itself has made you empty,
“Drink deep, drink long” are the only words from me.
Let tears flow fast and freely if you are able to do so,
Feel it, that emptiness that you think will never ever go.
Its hurts – not like a pain in elbow or eye; just emptiness!
The birth of real love attached to none – just His “is-ness”.
I could tell you that one day it will make you feel so free,
But it’s not the time and you wouldn’t really believe me.
Now you feel the pain of Hafiz, of Mevlana; of every lover,
In the holy Prophet’s two hands there is a salve however.
May it be that your destiny brings this relief to you,
May it be that you will feel at last the love that’s true.
A Lone Rose
Sweet scent from a lone pink rose filled the entire bower,
The untended garden shone, from a single short shower,
Love filled the heart that for union with verse was longing,
That nothing else mattered, at last the lover was knowing.
Love Thoughts
It just came my way, the impulse to write some poetry!
Is it indulgence, or unfulfilled love overpowering me?
And whose love is it anyway, wanting to have a say,
A lover lost in intensity, who for love alone can pray?
I wish I could speak of it with some sense of certainty,
But that feeling just keeps on wanting to overcome me.
If, lost in the heat of a deep passionate plea, it is a lover,
Be reassured it is touching the beloved within however.
When lover and beloved have reached the point of unity,
There is only love, no more you and me or even poetry.
Rain
The rain came, so of course the garden got wet,
And all the flowers appeared to be in a sweat.
What to say? It happens like that once in a while,
The gardener can do nothing but patiently smile.
The Muse
She was clothed only in poetry’s pure passion,
Though I saw her but in a momentary vision.
Sublimate the desire for outward expression,
An open love-filled heart is the soul’s fashion.
Spring
Yes, this life is short enough, that’s for sure,
Yet spring comes around again and again;
Every time it was new and fresh and pure,
Every time from decay it could not abstain.
The Eternal spring is in a true lover’s heart,
One who from the Beloved could never part.
Love Sat with Me
Love sat with me and said, “I am more than heart and head,
Indeed I carry off everything, and this all the lovers have said.
If there is any connection inside you to any other than to me,
Then that attachment is not my friend, and it is your enemy.
Come, and I will empty your heart, your body and your head;
Only I will remain when everyone and everything has fled.”
Love took me up to where only angels and pure souls can meet,
And amongst those holy, brightly-lit ones I was granted a seat.
There what I saw only the Beloved One can in reality reveal,
There I learnt about fantasy, imagination and about the Real.
There universal governance became evident in its divine simplicity,
There I came to know the universe’s deeply concealed mystery.
You can hold your breath if you like, but you won’t get from me,
More than a hint of that supreme, unelected, perfect symmetry,
By which the Ruler unfolds His absolute unlimited perfection;
By which the Manifesting One makes manifest His creation.
It is not given to us to reveal concealed mysteries, by command,
Nor to satisfy the curious when they insist on making this demand.
I know that for attention thousands and thousands of theories compete,
A clever head is full of such stuff, a simple one is sooner made replete.
Those heads theorise in the darkness about the existence of the light,
The enlightened just blink a bit and some even find it a bit too bright.
If you can’t take my word for the things I say, though they are true,
Its fine, just pass on to some theory, and my good wishes go with you.
Curtains
The velvet curtains parted, almost at a touch, willingly,
Sunlight and sight of the garden streamed in joyfully.
My vision walked amidst that sun-soaked flaming flora,
In every sense, drinking in scent and rich ripe colour.
That perfect paradise was not enough to last forever,
But say, in such a place how should I not want to linger?
I Cannot Pretend
I cannot pretend to be other than I am, a curious mixture,
With divine and very human features, a complex creature.
A reader of abstract theory and of my own human nature.
Capable of transcending both and of falling prey to either.
Divine love at times flows out from me in every direction,
At times it manifests only in my own transient satisfaction.
An eagle living amongst domesticated fowls, at times I am,
At others, soaring above clouds into the blue beyond I am.
I could simply say “All power is Yours, You made me this way”
But You gave me choices and taught me how to really pray.
A great light descended into the darkness of this one’s day,
Overcoming with its power what my own nature had to say.
“Do with me as you Will”, is all human nature can hope for,
Divinity however so many options can continue to explore.
Let me put aside all the doubts and disquieting imagination,
Let me put aside both fear and endless kinds of temptation.
Instead for every single action let me find Your kind sanction,
In Your love let me die and so live forever in Your satisfaction.
In My Mind
You were in my mind and heart and I longed for you.
When you didn’t come I just didn’t know what to do,
Neither fantasy nor imagination could create you!
I became restless not certain what I should try to do.
At long last the wine you like to serve came my way,
Now I desire only your eternal love and for this I pray.
Sleepless
You twist and turn throughout the long night,
But sleep won’t come so you can’t take flight.
The longing for union fills with fire every cell;
Desperation, confusion, and yes, love as well.
The secret is inside, but you cannot know it,
Unless the Divinity kindly decides to show it.
Empty yourself of everything that comes along,
Listen! Try to hear One who sings love’s song.
Drunk
So subtle, so insidious, is the reasoning of the rational mind,
In it an end to poetry, to passion, and yes, even to love I find.
I will not heed its sensible advice that leads the soul to die,
Its reasoned approach to life my lovelorn heart would defy.
I care not for the voice of the sober falling on my ears,
I know a life with love is better than a life of many years.
I know it is far finer to be one drunk on the wine of union,
Than to be a solid citizen of sanctity when you have gone.
Come, wine of love, accept my surrender, my resignation,
Make your pervasive intoxication my enduring situation.
Love Came
Love came and slept with me today,
I dreamt of you is what I mean to say.
We cannot really tell the way of dreams,
Especially those revealing love’s themes.
It’s enough to tell the expectant one,
That something good has just begun.
Dear Joseph’s story lingers on in the mind,
What struggles till his dream could unwind,
And in the world of deeds and actuality,
Its full meaning he could come to see.
Come love and unite the lover with me,
No more lover and beloved need there be.
And if we need to understand all of this,
Let it be enough to feel real love in a kiss.
There is only One and it has always been so,
The rest is real life drama and a grand show.
Sea Shore
Something came and picked me up, what can I say,
Love came again as it had come, on and off, all day.
It’s easy enough to forget those precious moments,
When in your company, love in speech and in silence,
Opened its arms, finding in this apparent ageing body,
An ever expanding, ever-growing fresh young psyche.
The rhythms of a quiet and calm sea lapped the shore,
Your presence kept on asking for more and yet more.
I could have drowned in the love from that company,
Instead I swam, and not alone, in the sea of harmony.
Femininity
I said my salaams to a young dark-haired beauty,
But that handsome one said nothing at all to me.
Of all the types of the female that a man may see,
One radiates just virile vigour, health and vitality,
Another is above the race of mere men altogether,
And looks at these slaves as if they just don’t matter.
It’s good that the Creator made such marked variety,
To catch the heart and imagination of one like me.
The strength and quality of a man’s masculinity,
Falls hopelessly before God-created femininity.
With Gratitude
With gratitude this heart of mine embraced,
That heart of yours and upon it a word traced.
The pulse raced, blood flooded body and face,
Nothing was hidden, between us was no space.
Our souls danced where only heaven we find;
Where suns and moons and stars are left behind.
I am inclined to romanticise its true, but tell me,
Was it different for you, that flight into ecstasy?
This old world is a cold place for hearts that burn,
To light it up with divine recollection it’s our turn.
My heart ached so much, it was so completely burned
Until the perfection of divine grace towards me turned.
The holy Prophet's love knows no limits, nor his mercy,
This he showed so clearly when he looked towards me.
My Dusky Beauty
My dusky beauty has a duty, to stroke my head,
To comb my hair whilst I lay so helpless in bed.
You may wonder how this can be tasawuuf,
But that dusky lady, her whole self she has shed,
The Mercy of the Merciful
The Mercy of the Merciful looked my way,
There was nothing of value a sinner could say.
In the silence my heart could only pray
May the Mercy of the Merciful forever stay,
The Sea of Your Love
The sea of your love surged and drowned the isle of my vanity,
I mean the illuminated ocean of Certainty overwhelmed me.
Poetry insisted on having its say, of course it would,
But I lay lingering in the arms of the sleep of selfhood.
The rise and fall of the breath of our so brief existence,
Led my conscious mind to the eternal solace of silence,
Where your loving salaam alone becomes apparent,
And even the bemused muse becomes still and silent.
Poetry Parcels
Parcels of poetry keep passing through my mind,
To the bin of “might have been” much is consigned;
But such fine words would not so easily let me go,
The seeds of love thoughts you continued to sow.
The love lamp that you ignite, whoever you are,
Shines daily like the sun, and nightly like a star.
Love, I am your prisoner, I cannot walk away,
You speak commands and I do what you say.
Yes, it’s crazy of course, you have blown my mind,
Yet somehow it is as if it’s all carefully designed.
I signed my own death certificate I guess,
When the love I had for you, I had to confess.