All my songs are about the path
All my sighs are about the path
All my steps are on this path
Whirling
Winding
Wandering
Seasons flitting by
Years rushing by
Faces fading by
My step never faltering.
Smiling, as I say goodbye.
Teary eyed, as I say welcome.
Breathless as I grow new lungs.
Ever changing
Ever breathing
Ever growing.
Dear brother
Dear sister
Dear friend
Are you close?
Are you here?
Are you lost?
I can still hear you.
My step never faltering
I cannot linger
I cannot wander
I cannot turn back.
They told me in a dream
They told me in a song
They told me in a story
About the dangers of turning back.
And yet,
I keep your words in my heart.
I keep your smiles in my heart.
I keep your heartbeat in my heart.
This new home I build
This new life I weave.
This new path I cleave.
I carry it on my back.
It carries me on its back.
A home that grows with me.
A home that walks with me
A home that changes with me.
My step never faltering.
Your echoes guide me
Your echoes gladden me.
Your echoes call me.
Will you forget me?
Will I forget you?
Will we cross path again?
I hope
I pray
I know
In this world or the next,
Kindred souls
Loving souls
Compassion souls
Always find each other again.
On we go
On and on we go.
Our steps never faltering.
The illusion of choice
Bright colorful shops
One after the other
Smiling made up faces
One after the other.
Glossy well arranged food
One after the other.
The variety
The quantity
The avidity
That hunger that leads all humans
More
More
And more.
Faster
Faster
And faster.
Stronger
Stronger
And stronger.
Worshiping those
Who sell.
Sanctifying those
Who endorse.
Idolizing those
Who promote.
With their fat salaries
And our insatiable desire
And our insatiable need
And our insatiable hunger.
For what we don't truly need.
And those pits of unsold clothes.
And those pyres of unsold cars.
And those pyramids of unsold trash.
Gathering
Dust.
Gathering
Ashes.
Gathering
Flies.
How much waste can on our enlightened civilization create?
Giving up even our name
For a bargain.
Giving up even our children
For attention.
Giving up even our integrity
For possession.
Consuming us…
Since those first mills
Since those first factories
Since those first slavehouses.
Our civilization of human rights…
Built on fabric made by modern day slavery.
Hidden
Far off
Far away.
I know,
You know,
We all know.
But just need to get it.
Ignorance is bliss.
Bliss is possession.
Possession is salvation.
All bow to the lord of cryptocurrency.
There isn't much time left
For the poet's lament
For the writer's warning
For the mystic's dream
AI will soon make it better.
Make us forget our painfully slow brains.
Make us forget our painfully aging bodies.
Make us forget our painfully boring lives.
All hail the birth of a new deity.
Who will win?
Our personal idols of unspoken needs?
Our common idol of coins, bills and virtuality?
Our new arrificial sexless ageless genderless perfection intelligence?
Have we finally found eternity?
Alas,
We shall fall in this trap.
We shall settle in this cage.
We shall exist in this illusion.
Forgetting
Every day more
Every breath more
Every image more
Our Creator
Our Destination
Our Solace.
And yet, never be unforgotten in His Presence.
It doesn't cost
Your money
Your body
Your baby
To just be… in His Presence.
There is a balance in nature
There is a balance in my heart
There is a balance in our existence
Today,
I sowed a bulb
I discarded dead leaves.
Today
I cast off a dream
I planted a prayer.
Today,
We trembled with deadly anguish
We took a deep calming breath.
How does the world not collapse?
When there is so much joy?
When there is so much horror?
When there its so much magma?
Bubbling and breaking through
Burning and seeping through
Melting and rising through
Breaking the crust of the earth
Breaking the hearts of humans
Breaking the heart of cities
And leaving only rubbles
And leaving only silence
And leaving only dust
And terrible cold
And terrible hunger
And terrible wounds
Will they ever heal?
My heart shivers
My soul rises
My thoughts stagger
And yet, here I am…
In a peaceful land
In a yet standing house
In a thriving city.
What will happen tomorrow?
Only the Creator knows
Only the Destructor knows
Only the Transformer knows.
He,
Who gives us life.
He.
Who takes us back.
He.
Who changes our state.
My loss are but pebbles to theirs.
My pain is but a shadow to theirs
My longing is but a whisper to theirs.
How can I complain?
And yet,
He litens.
And yet,
He gibes.
And yet.
He guides.
He is always here.
And none of my words can express
And none of my words can encompass
And none of my words can capture
Who He is.
Even the words I use now
Even the pronouns I use now
Even the attributes I use now
Are limited.
And I call myself a poet…
How can I express what my souls see?
How can I express what my heart perceives?
How can I express what my mind cannot touch?
Do you hear Him
Do you feel Him
Do you see Him
In my words?
Or are they just empty utterance
Or are they just clever delusions
Or are they hollow sentiments
Do they mean something?
And yet I try…
To draw from the well of my soul
To call from the depth of my heart
To reach beyond the limits of my being
To find some balance.
And with words,
Create a rhythm
Create a lullaby
Create a litany
To keep me sane.
To keep me calm
To keep me balanced.
Lest my heart drowns me in despair.
So many voices swirling around
So many sounds dashing about
So many screams darting about
Too much - Too much!
Too many images flashing about
Too many photos lying about
Too many selfies cluttering about.
Too much - Too much!
So many lies published here.
So much slander written there.
So many ideas twisted about.
Too much - Too much!
How can we find rest here?
How can we find peace here?
How can we find solace here?
And yet, we cling on
To those screens
To those devices
To those boxes
Thinking through them
Living through them
Loving through them
And leaving a legacy on it.
Something to be erased
and forgotten.
Something to be discarded
and forgotten.
Something to be shared
and forgotten.
Lost.
So much time wasted.
So many feelings lost
So many words hollowed
Written
Edited
Shared
until it doesn’t mean anything.
Lost in the froth
Lost in the surface
Lost in the illusion
How can they ever swim into
The velvety depths
The ever moving immensity
The eternal circumambulations
How can they understand it?
How can they feel it?
How can they belong to it?
When they are amused
When they are focused
When they are taken
By the sparkling bubbles on the surface
By the shattering clutter on the surface
By the swirling waves on the surface
Utterly lost to them
Utterly melded to them
Utterly maddened by them
Becoming a host
Becoming a slave
Becoming a servant
Of those little rivulets
of distraction
Of those little droplets
of sensation
Of those little dribs
of devastation
So intensely focused
So deeply encroached
So utterly enslaved
By nothingness.
Am I one of them?
Will I be one of them?
Are you one of them?
Can we still pull away?
Can we still run away?
Can we still fly away?
Beyond these veils of delusions
Beyond these veils of illusion
Beyond these veils of addiction
And find our way back
To sanity
To stability
To serenity
Back to
Our Healer
Our Protector
Our Creator
– The Source of it all.
Truth to be told
I always knew I was too odd
I always knew I was too old
I always knew I was too bold
At their age, I was already my age.
At our age, I am already their age.
But my body doesn’t know…
She calls for the mundane rituals of life…
Birth and death
Love and desire
Death and birth
She asks,
She begs,
She craves,
For what all humans have-
For what all humans experience.
For what all humans know.
And yet I do not know.
And yet I do not experience.
And yet I do not have,
Patience,
I tell her.
Oblivion,
I tell her.
Circumvent,
i tell her.
We do not belong to those ranks,
We do not belong to those humans
We do not belong to those creatures.
Our path is different…
You know that,
my dear body.
You know that,
my dear heart.
You know that,
my dear mind.
Our path was always different.
We always belonged more
To the ethereal than the real.
We always belonged more,
To the invisible than the visible.
We always belonged more
To the infinite rather than the finite.
I was already gone.
I was already beyond.
I was already far away.
Before coming to that state.
Why mourn for that loss –
When you always knew.
Why crave for that dream –
When it was never yours.
Why long for that life –
When it never could be your destiny.
Glide over
Fly over
Scatter over
Those ashes.
I always knew,
Didn’t I?
I always felt it,
Didn’t I?
I always smelled it,
Didn’t I?
That I could not take those normal steps.
That I could not open that boring old door.
That I could not reach that simple cabin.
My path was to wind into the forest.
My path was to ascend to the summits.
My paths was to take me to such heights…
Without any effort
But acceptance.
Without any struggle
But acceptance
Without any loss
But acceptance.
How light I feel
How bright I feel
How soft I feel
Beyond their reach.
More than peace
More than ecstasy
More than love
Like a robin puffing in the cold
Like a sparrow winging through the storm
Like a nightingale singing in the silence
Something with feathers
Something ever fleeting
Something so very small
True liberty.
Here’s to you,
Little girl.
Here’s to you,
brave woman.
Here’s to you,
Unconquerable lady.
wandering on that path
that never fails
that never halts
that never falters.
Up that hill
Up that rock
Up that summit
beyond that winding way
beyond that slithering path
beyond that trailing trail
there are whispers under the pine trees
there are roses under the cedar trees
there are ghosts under swiss mountain pines
If you go up there
You cab lose your way
You can lose your heart
You can lose your years
and wander,
wander and wander.
Until it’s too late to go back.
Until it’s too late to save yourself.
Until it’s too late to keep all your pieces.
Shedding each hope
like leaves.
Dreams trickling down
like rivulets.
Illusion drifting by
like high altitude sickness.
Have you lost your mind?
Have you lost your heart?
Have you lost your soul?
There’s a creature lurking by…
Is it headless?
Is it heartless?
Is it handless?
Something is missing.
But all you can see are
images of a perfect life.
Words of true love.
Quintessence of hope.
Something you try to grasp
But you stumble
But you grumble
But you crumble
Like a snow castle.
It’s so cold now
It’s so silent now
It’s so bright now
The moon reflecting in that white snow.
So bright,
Like big teeth
So bright,
Like a big bite.
So bright,
Like a sinister smile.
There’s no escape anymore…
Count your fingers
Count your toes
Count your hopes
Is it still all there?
And turn back,
and turn around,
And turn down,
And run… Like in that that song.
And run… Like in that saying.
And run… Like in that poem.
Run for your life
Run for your heart
Run for your sanity.
And treasure what is left.
Down in that deep valley
Down in that dark valley
Down in that safe valley,
In that wooden chalet
By that bright fire
Behind that thick door.
Safe.
Count your blessings.
Count your scars.
Count your new skills.
And be glad.
Few are those who return
Unscathed.
Few are those who return
Untainted.
Few are those who return
Untamed.
Be glad.
You survived.
My birds wake at dawn
My birds vanish at sunset
My birds flit by all day.
Their each have their voice
They each have their song
They each have their dreams
Have you heard them?
Have you seen them?
Have you followed them?
By those lonely city trees
Through those sleepy bushes
In those wavering woods.
Follow them
Follow them we must.
Follow them
Follow them you must
Follow them
Follow them till the end
Of this winding way
Of this spiralling way
Of this rising way.
Through the ages
Through the vales
Through the day.
My birds are calling me
My birds are delighting me
My birds are beckoning me
For another dance
For another song
For another adventure.
Come, come, they say.
Fly, fly, they say.
Sing, sing, they say.
You won’t lose your way
this time.
You won’t fall
this time.
You won’t lose your voice
This time.
How they brave the wild winds
How they endure this strange weather.
How they flourish in the city wilderness.
Indomptable
Unstoppable
Unforgettable.
Delicate wings
Sweet voices
Light gait
But how far they fly!
But how long they strive!
But how long they sing!
Dear winged drops of hope
Dear feathered dew of dreams
Dear tinkling chords of prayers
I am grateful that you exist
Yet,
These birds do not belong to me.
They belong to the trees
They belong to themselves
They belong to Our Creator.
Utter freedom.
Utter beauty.
Utter peace.
Rome’s on fire
California’s on fire
Portugal’s on fire
and stil,
you call me mad.
They are growing old
those I love the most.
It’s falling apart,
that place I love the most.
It’s scattering away,
that dream I love the most.
Should I say loved,
instead of love?
Should I say gone
instead of going?
Should I say closed
instead of closing?
Keep that last bit of coffee
Keep that last piece of candy
Keep that last final episode
Until it tastes stale
Until it falls in pieces
Until it doesn’t mean anything anymore.
But I know how to say goodbye
But I know how to walk away
But I know how to close the book.
Just don’t want to do it anymore.
Oh that moon is so full
Oh that moon is so bright
Oh that moon is so close.
Nights full of scents
Nights full of songs
Nights full of sighs.
And I’m still here.
Yesterday that field by my home
burnt down.
Yesterday that friend living by my home
moved away.
Yesterday that cup full of memories
broke away.
So many pieces
So many ashes
So many paths
scattered away.
Those dreams were never yours
They were mine.
.
Those tears were never yours;
They were mine.
Those fears were never mine
They were yours.
It is time,
right?
Of course it is…
Look at the birds
and their wings stretched wide!
Look at the stars
and their diverging paths!
Look at their faces
and their unique features!
There’s still so much to uncover.
Listen to the wind in the trees,
Listen to the birds in the boughs,
Listen to your heart in your chest.
And go on.
Layla Ali Sultan 