Five Short Meditations on the Virgin Mary
(Note: This poem was commissioned by Abdal-Hakim Murad for his essay appearing in th…
Splendid excitement of the coming day!
Palaces might await us filled with
the tangiest grapes
down esplanades of golden cypresses
behind walls we can
barely see over at dawn for the
height of their occasional distractions
But melodious lute music from a
hidden courtyard exudes
fragrant strums that
invite our hungry hearts to float past
their rough material stones
OK it’s a day of fasting whose
treasures remain unseen
but we can almost feel the
spatial pressure to let them burst and
unload over us as the day progresses
and though their
gold may be nontransferable on the
common market
already the gurgle of flashing rivers of love’s coins
delights our ears
and their deeper wealth entices us
Oh that sumptuous dazzling palace before us!
Wild festivities jingle-jangle there!
Endless dancing of heavenly bodies!
No breath taken that isn’t
Allah’s Name in a taste of
majestic succulence!
8 Ramadan (from Ramadan is Burnished Sunlight)
Categories: Poems, Ramadan / 'Eid, Fasting