Can you hear her?
Can you feel her?
Can you hold her?
A soft chirp,
A gentle flutter,
A lithe heartbeat.
There’s a song in your heart
There’s a feather in your beard,
There’s a warmth in your palms,
But you cannot see it.
Your branches are high and wide,
Your foliage is battered but blooming,
Your trunk is caved but strong.
An oak,
A cypress,
An aspen,
That survived the Flood.
That survived the Plagues.
That survived the Furies.
Time and time again.
In a world full of coal,
In a world full of smoke,
In a world full of oil spills ,
You thrived.
You know of darkness and the return of the Light,
You know of loneliness and the return to the Presence,
You know of bitterness and the return Forgiveness,
… But ever so lonely.
High there,
Deep within,
Far away,
How cold you must feel,
How silent you must feel,
How tired you mus feel….
But even in this land,
The pale dawn must return,
The gentle breeze must return,
A hopeful spring must return.
Like in the ever expanding darkness,
Like in the ever exploding supernova,
Like in the ever silent galaxies,
There’s a distant glint.
It’s a speck,
Its a dust,
It’s a star.
You looked up to the night sky.
You searched for the crescent moon.
You found an unexpected gleam.
Something you carry with you even in the brightest sunshine.
Something you protect from the fiercest storm.
Something you hold on to even in the bitterest cold.
But you cannot grasp it yet.
But you cannot clasp it yet.
But you cannot wrap it yet.
In your arms.
Your heart yearns for that moment,
Your chest tremble for that embrace,
Your soul shivers for that treasure.
But she isn’t a queen,
decked in diamonds and pearls.
But she isn’t a saint,
decked with distance and perfection.
But she isn’t a prize,
decked with gold and jewels.
She is but a human.
She is but a woman.
She is but a wanderer… Just like you.
A poet, sometimes,
A lady, other times,
A bird, most of the time.
What about you?
Who are you?
A solid oak tree.
Who are you?
A timid sparrow.
Who are you?
A safe valley.
I wish you were a tree
I could rest on.
I wish you were a foliage
I could shelter under.
I wish you were a foret
I could lose myself into.
Instead,
You are a few sentences,
You are a few heartbeats,
You are a few clicks,
and a dream,
and a hope,
and a prayer,
That I have bestowed to God.
One day,
One night,
One magical moment,
My love,
I shall tell your everything.
I shall give you everything.
I shall offer you everything.
One day,
When the time has come.
When the decree has fallen,
When the waiting is fulfilled,
I shall be yours.
You shall be mine.
If God has ordained it.
As God has ordained it.
When God has ordained it.
Until then…
There’s a song in your heart,
There’s a feather in your beard,
There’s a warmth in your palms,
— A bird on your shoulder.
Layla Ali Sultan 