The Beloved

The Beloved came unto me
He spoke not a word
But what we shared was greater far
   and deeper, than words

I could speak naught but his name
I was in love with him but could not express it

He drew me into his embrace
And I was his
My individuality
Independence
Self-will
Free choice
All like dirty clothes
Were stripped away

This fixation on life
The fear of death
The desire to be
To achieve
To matter
It all melted away
In this moment of nakedness

He was life
He was desire
And I was in his arms

He left me, as he usually does
And all such earthly things came back
   slowly, greyishly
Like the dawning of a drizzly day
He left only a longing in me
He left in me the imprint of him

A deeper sense of separation, my love!
Why then did you come unto me?
To give one sip to a traveler lost in the desert?
I can't understand you, my dear

Why do you neither give your full presence
Nor take it away?
Do you taunt me?
Do you make me dance the dance of love unrequited?
What a bitter dance

Or do you feel the same?
The pain of separation
Of this something which severs us from each other
Makes us wonder in the back of our head
   if indeed the whole affair really took place
If we are real, or a dream one to another

A figure remains in my mind
I see the day when breath expires
When brain and flesh finally rest
When flies the soul
That day is called "THE RETURN"

I see me saying
"My love, I have been away for so long
I was lost and couldn't find my way back"

And I see you saying
"You have been gone for so long
I have longed for you every day of the journey
But now you are home
Come, leave no more"

That is the day of our marriage
I see it, and don't know if it's real
But I see it, and it lives inside of me

My words! I chew on my tongue
But still they don't come
The words to say what is between us
To say what your love is
My dear, I can't say it
My Beloved, I can only say your name
I can only say your name

Ransom

They said to gather material wealth
But it all seemed to vanish so quickly?

They said to accrue sums of knowledge
But no sooner it grew obsolete?

They said to acquire bodily beauty
But the body was eternally withering?

They said to pursue fame, acclaim
But the people were first to forget?

They said to find acceptance and love
To be given and taken on whim?

Then spoke one who had been quiet throughout
Find the wealth of the self, he said
All else will be lost to time and event
But when will you be without your self?

Money, mind, body, repute
All bandits
Waylaying the pilgrim
Holding him hostage

And all the while
He had the ransom inside
He just didn't know

A Prayer for the East

My Lord

They have not believed my words
I came only to serve
But the people rejected me
Because of the bitterness that was sown by my brothers

Have mercy on them my Lord
They are a strong and a proud people
Full of goodness
Caught up in the snares of the West

That insatiable monster from our lands
Arises again
Raises its hand against the East
In its mad, mad! lust for power
Deliver them, deliver us all

Give them strength to endure the test
Grant only that in this darkness we might behold thy face
My Lord!
Only one look would be enough

Grant that I be among this sturdy lot
Grant that I share their fate
If their blood is spilt, so let mine
That I might partake it all

That I might take on the hatred they would aim at me
What other vessel will they find?
That I might absorb the pain they would expel upon the enemy
I am built in the image of the enemy
I would count this thy blessing

That I might watch them, even from afar
As they enter into thy glory
That I might follow, even from afar
As they tread thy path
Lead us in the path of the righteous! (ihdina al sirat al mustaqeen)

Let my voice mingle with theirs
As they cry
Only thee do we worship (iyaaka naabudu)
Only from thee do we seek help (wa iyaaka nustaeen)

And in this world of festering injustice
While we may never have peace
If we can earn Your favor
That would be enough

Regrets

That there is so much life to live
And too little time to live it in

That there is so much to be learnt
And too little mind to learn it with

That there is so much to be seen
But never space to see it all

That there are so many to be loved
But not enough heart to love them all

That there is so much to be done
And not the strength to do it all

Wisdom
Judgement
Choice

The crutches to deal with our existence

Brief, rushed, sundered
Blind, fumbling, searching
Finding, rejoicing, losing
Weeping, returning, resting
Understanding, finally.

The Conference

My self conferred with all its fellows—the personalities—and lamented

“Brothers, we are no longer as simple as we once were

No longer as carefree as we would like to have remained

Why have time and constraint forced us to change?

To be so earthly?”

The personalities mumbled among themselves

They did not know

They could not say

To Fly

The moment when the impossible becomes possible
It is not enough just to say it
You must have the touch
To lay naught more than a finger on that thing called impossible
And watch it transform itself

Not a task accomplished by words or intellect
Not by thought or reason
It's in the touch

Christ said "What is easier, to say? 'Thy sins are forgiven thee'
Or 'take up thy bed and walk'?"
Then said both
Did both

Which was easier, the outer miracle or the inner?
The inner? It can't be proven.
The outer? Visible, but superficial.
Soon there will be a leg-healing device
But when will we get a forgiveness machine?

Which is easier?
To part the waters of the Red Sea?
Or to change the heart of Pharaoh?
Engineers can part those same waters
But where is the heart-changing tech?

Which is easier?
To walk on water?
Or to cast out demons?
Man walks on air these days
But still is not free of his demons

The visible is applauded
But it is the invisible that lasts

It is when the touch of the finger
And the gaze of the eye
Cause the material to dematerialize
And the real to un-realize

At that moment a wingless creature takes flight
That great and boundless entity
The soul
Possesses the body
Faith possesses the reason

Don't try it through effort, labor
No amount of positive brainwashing will do

It's all in the touch
When one touches
And is touched--simultaneously
And with the touch they are touched with
They reach forth

The Prophet

He taught me how to be a saint

Without being perfect 

How to be holy

Without being sinless

He taught me how to be both divine

In order to change the world

And human

In order to love it

David! David!

Kiss me with thy seven kisses!

I am thy slave,

As thou wast mine

And we are both

Slaves of the Eternal Love