RHYTHMS OF THE SOUL - By Muhammad Naveed Ahmed (Emmenay) (finding audrey txt) 📗

once more walk in the park,
Come, let's rekindle the anonimity,
When I didn't know you, or you me.
Perhaps, once more you will trip and fall,
Perhaps, I shall once more heed your call,
The call, like old times, long ago,
When I was your friend, not your foe.
There shall be no moon to light the way,
The stars will appear, we cannot say,
The intensity of the hidden path,
Will be greater than your heart's wrath.
Why bother about the worldly jokes,
Why care about disdainful folks,
The matter concerns just you and me,
The warmth of my love, your cold fury.
The lake and its water will be still,
A second will be like climbing a hill,
Past the midnight hour, in the park,
Just the two of us, let's once more walk.

(70) JUST A NIGHT OR TWO

This place is neither yours, nor mine,
Our lifetimes span just a night or two.
Why this sadness lingers by my side,
Do I really appear to be so alone?
Let the folks say what they like,
What I foresee will one day be.
Have you seen a house come crumbling down,
What happened to all the birds that flew?
The dry twigs also have some tales to tell,
Like the torn soles of my worn-out shoes.
Don't go out hunting on your own,
Pitfalls lurk under the grassy hue.
One day I saw a fish inside a stream,
Perplexed at the hooked worm that I threw.
So note down all that's disclosed here,
Our lifetimes span just a night or two.

This poem was inspired by a famous Urdu ghazal.

(71) SOME QUESTIONS

Some people don't like the sea,
Some don't like the evening stars,
Some don't like the lush green hills,
Some, like me, don't like scars.
I stand near the seashore and dwell,
On the mysteries of life, heaven and hell,
Sometimes I sit on the sand and wait,
Wondering which one of us came here late.
I have been here often whenever I could,
With evergreen memories of childhood,
I have watched the waves and swam with them,
Deep in dreams gleam many a gem.
I have also been seen with the evening stars,
Seeking answers to why I came from Mars;
Pondering why these heavenly floats,
Have so much to do with our life boats.
I have also been high up in the hills,
Experiencing excitement and thrills,
With friends sometimes, at times with none,
Wishing that a heart like mine would come.
A heart that doesn't like scars on the sun,
That understands the finiteness of wisdom,
A heart that loves to live for love,
A heart like mine, from somewhere, somehow?
And so this span of years does pass,
I look at the sea yet walk on the grass,
For, I know, as the clocks tell me,
Time and tide wait for no he or she.
Sometimes I look at a cheerful lass,
Whose young heart is like smooth glass,
Sometimes I read lines addressed to me,
Expressing the hope of love and glee:
Then I come again at the seashore,
Mystified why fate wants to hurt me more,
Hasn't my tide of love appeared late,
Why always me who has to wait?

(72) JUST ONE GLANCE

Like Samson chained, grinding the daily grind,
I have lost interest but must work entwined,
The ugliness of this world is too apparent,
And my life here a rolled parchment.
No desire to live, nor to carry on,
Yet, I know, I have to pull on,
Like Orion and others around Polaris,
I too must revolve on a daily basis.
O heart and mind, at least flash a dream,
Of the world I long for, just show me one scene.
Let me have a glimpse of my promised paradise,
Just one glance, so that the hope survives.

(73) KARMA & PRAYER

There was a time,
When I struggled with fate,
In a bid to rewrite a line.
Then I realized it was too late,
That it was futile,
To attempt revisions.
It is better to accept,
And reconcile:
For, what is destined will happen.
However, they say, there is a key,
Which unlocks the door to heaven,
And makes what we wish, to happen.
That some soul's prayer becomes a pen,
That revises a line of a destined rhyme.
That the reward of good is but good,
And nothing is unjust in the Maker's book.
Faith and good deeds shape our end:
What we receive is what we send,
To shape our karma in the cosmic pattern.


(74) THE TRUTH LIES HIDDEN…SOMEWHERE

I seek God's refuge from Satan,
Just because he has been given the leave?
The reprieve allowed till Doomsday,
To lie in my wait and ensnare me?
Making me the Khalifa* on Earth,
And with all angels prostrating,
Knowing about me which even I know not,
And breathing in Adam Your breath and glow:
Why did You give power to Iblees*?
Who taught him all his evil ways?
And then made a pact with him,
Permitting him to mislead me?
Saying You will fill Hell with those,
All that couldn't bear to resist him,
Making Eden for Adam and Eve,
And then planting a forbidden tree:
When the angels asked You, my God,
That this creation of dust and clay,
Would work mischief on this world,
You replied You were the Lord:
You taught Adam all the Names*,
And showed him as better than them,
Was the devil hiding in an unseen place,
Why didn't he see Adam's greatness then?
Then You gave Eve and Adam everything,
All that their hearts could desire,
But, you knew there was that tree of loss,
Why didn't you uproot it from Eden?
Why was Satan allowed in that Garden?
Who gave him permission to be there?
The devil who had disobeyed You,
Why was he shown how to mislead them?
You, my God, made Adam and Eve,
The best creation till that time,
You assert that You loved them most,
Yet, made the Serpent* seduce them?
Then You banished then from Your Grace,
Even though you know each and everything,
Were my first parents made to be thrown?
And the evil one made to wear a crown?
No, my Good God, I cannot understand,
The reason behind this purpose,
Save that even You create and destroy,
And on your puppets blame the fuss.
You sent prophets from time to time,
Why were they always the chosen ones,
Who gave one the mind and strength to kill,
And made the other's sacrifice sublime?
What is the meaning of all this God?
Will you, please, satisfy me?
You showed Abraham how dead will relive,
Will You end my curiosity?
I have pondered; I have thought and thought,
You, Adam, Satan and the chosen lot,
Appear to be making fools of us,
Else, this chaos doesn't have You O God!
O, the promises of Your Last Day,
How they clash with my night and day,
If I deny it's by Your decree,
Would I be on Your Path or astray?
Why this stress on the commandments?
Kill Satan, make this the Last Day?
What are You waiting for O God!
Can't You hear what my heart and soul say?
End this creativeness of Yours,
Destroy and find a better way,
Where no power belongs to anyone,
To lead or mislead, guide, waylay...
There is no God besides You,
Let the truth of glisten and shine,
Why this mayhem of confusion,
When You are the Truth as You say!
I often pause by the beach and watch,
Then fall down on my knees and pray,
I feel that Truth lies hidden somewhere,
Not in this world’s chaotic fray.

Khalifa is an Arabic term which means successor - Adam and Eve and their progeny are successors of a previous generation that inhabited and ruled Earth. Iblees is also an Arabic term used for Satan. Eden's use is also allegorical and metaphorical in some lines here. Forbidden fruit is alluded here as the weaknesses instilled in man by God as forgetfulness, disobedience and sin...Many instances in The Holy Bible and The Holy Quran corraborate this statement of mine.The Serpent is the form taken by Satan to seduce Adam and Eve in Eden. It is also a metaphor defining the hideous evil inside every man and woman. Readers are requested to read this poem as an allegorical one instead of trying to understand or explain it in its literal sense.

(75) LAST NIGHT

About last night?
How can I explain,
About last night!
But I have to say,
It was quite plain,
As the soul felt,
It was indeed,
The last night.
My poetic muse,
By my side,
Making me believe -
like I once used to -
when I was young:
It wasn't night -
Her smiles and her songs:
Rapturous delight -
The hours went by,
Like Pegasus,
Taking strides:
Across the sky.
My muse, my joy,
My inspiration,
Made me oblivious,
Of damnation.
And I grew fond,
Of our spiritual bond,
Like watching Orpheus,
Growing more strong:
Though not with the living,
But I found love,
With my God-sent muse,
Ah, the joy and warmth,
Of being loved while loving!
Did I not long,
For such a grand night?
O, how I wait,
For another such flight!

(76) LAST PLEA

The night is pitch black, dark and intense,
Inside too there is smoke, no incense,
The turbulence is great, the waves are angry,
The heart is filled up with grief that's immense.
I look up above and my gaze goes quite far,
But there is silence, as still as a jar,
Filled with water, you add one more drop,
And the overflow will refresh the scar.
Whirlpools are great to watch and be reminded,
This galaxy of ours is similarly winded,
The Creator says he is quite close to me,
Then why is it I am walking blinded.
I read Roomi and Hallaj and all the sufis,
They claim they sought God and found real peace,
Why does not my Lord look upon me,
What wrong have I done to see pain increase.
The stones are quiet and the world is asleep,
There is mayhem going on that makes me weep,
Chaos and barbarism with innocents wailing,
Deep in the heart the cries are deafening.
O Lord, I accept I am not perfect,
I seek Your forgiveness and long for Your response,
Reply O my God when you know what my heart wants.
There is a wound that has not been healed,
There is a stab that has not been sealed,
There is no grass visible on the empty field,
Why don't You O Lord, then be my shield?
In this solitude I pray to You my Maker,
Reply to my pleas and be my Caretaker,
Let me just remember there is only You,
The rest, erase it, and make me anew.
O my Lord, O my Benefactor,
You have showered Your mercy in times of disaster,
I thank You for everything You have given me,
But make me Thine is my last plea.

(77) LET GOD’S WRATH DESCEND

Does the man who rapes his daughter,
Deserve to live as a man?
Shouldn't he be cut up, chopped,
And thrown in the garbage can?
Shouldn't incest and abuse be wiped,
Shouldn't evil diminish?
The Sodomites, I 'm told
How God made them vanish.
Fire must rain once more,
To cleanse this world of sins,
Brimstone must bury,
All the sin-filled dust bins.
If Sorchna has suffered,
All of us should be blamed,
We allowed a beastly father,
To walk about unchained.
Let the