The smoke has faded,
The dust has settled,
The mists have receded.
There are no footballer and no singer.
There are no husband and no wife.
There are no lonely scholar and lonely mystic.
There’s a priestess,
There’s a princess,
There’s a wild creature,
Racing through marshes and woods.
Hurling through vales and peaks,
Howling through hollows and mounts.
Panting,
Growling,
Hollering.
Can you hear the call?
You are lying in the bed you never made.
You are lying in the ruins of your own words.
You are lying in a hollow of dried hopes.
Can you hear the call?
You are fighting that longing.
You are drying that well.
You are bottling up that hope.
But you cannot sleep,
Can you?
But you cannot escape,
Can you?
But you cannot forget,
Can you?
It’s a breath,
It’s a whisper,
It’s a a cry.
There’s a door,
There’s a path,
There’s a book,
You’ve opened.
It haunts you,
It calls you,
It beckons you.
Wake up,
Why won’t you wake up?
Sit up,
Why won’t you sit up?
Stand up,
why won’t you stand up.
Your body is shivering.
Your heart is quivering.
Your soul is glimmering.
You found her.
She came to you.
Both ran apart.
Why,
Do you wonder why?
Of course you do,
Fellow traveller,
Friend,
My love.
As you toss and turn,
As you fast and pray
As you wait and listen,
I pray,
I sing,
I weave,
A few lines
To keep you warm.
To keep you safe,
To keep you sane.
… And light your way.
Layla Ali Sultan 