Time can erase
Canyons of anguish
Time can ease
Valleys of sadness
Time can appease
Oceans of loss.
How easily each continent forgot…
The wear and tear,
The erupting crust,
The burning forests.
After all,
Nothing is created
Nothing is lost
Everything is transformed.
From ashes, fuel.
From fuel, fumes.
From pain, wisdom.
Forever spinning around the sun,
Forever greeting the full moon,
Forever clinging to this system.
Forever until time…
Holds still.
Crashes down.
Rises up.
And we are free from this yoke.
Seasons dance away.
Days whirl away.
Waves cower away.
Only to return.
And that thread remains,
Doesn’t it?
And that connection remains,
Doesn’t it?
And those memories remain,
Don’t they?
But what do they mean to you?
But what do they mean to me?
Ask the Grand canyon about
How mighty used to be the Colorado river.
Ask the Appalachians about
How close was the Caledonian range.
As the continents about
How safe Pangea felt.
Ages pass by
Seconds trickle by.
Lifetimes fade by.
And what is left of those times of closeness?
– That illusion –
Scars like ridges, mountains and summits
Dark circles like steep slope edges
Shadows like volcanic ashes
Spreading
Scattering
Fading
Who remembers Tambora’s destruction, anymore?
Other than the mountains,
Other than the oceans
Other than the fossils?
Frozen in time.
Stolen in time.
Beholden in time.
Yet,
We are not set in amber.
We are not buried in ashes.
We are not covered in dirt.
Our limbs are free,
Our foliage is bright,
Our sap is fast.
We are given seasons.
To live,
To mourn
To forget,
To remember.
To live, again.
Renewed
Transformed
Reborn.
But,
What of the past?
Those leftover of supernovas,
Who create new solar systems.
Those ashes of forgotten creatures,
Who feed those ever growing trees.
Those sunken mountains,
Who harbor precious metals.
Weaving the past into the future.
Weaving the future back to the past.
Interwoven
Interlaced
Interchanged.
What will remain, tell me?
Of those fleeting feelings –
Of those lingering senses –
Of those fading ghosts –
What will be forgotten, tell me?
I see you clearly now.
A speck of dust.
A melacnholy thistle.
A dust of gold.
Nothing much to hold
but enough to speculate.
And yet,
Unforgettable.
Wastelands
Forgotten lands,
Sinking lands.
Let them vanish.
Let a new world rise.
Let a new days rise.
Let a new star rise.
So bright
So warm
So earnest
Blinding us to the past.
You were attracted to the light
You were attracted to the attention
You were attracted to the love
I gave freely.
You were thirsty
for tenderness.
You were starving,
for warmth.
You were dying,
for compassion.
One drop wasn’t enough.
One well wasn’t enough,
One ocean wasn’t enough.
A wild tumultuous ocean
A gentle caressing ocean,
A fragile pure ocean.
But you took,
And you took,
And took.
Until the ocean was dry…
Seaweeds becoming fossils,
Waves becoming sandstorms,
A glistering mirror turning into dust
From the pearls you tore out of the shells,
From the nutrients you suck out of the fish,
From the songs you stole from the waves,
You found a new hunting ground.
Leaving that ocean
Dry,
Broken,
Forgotten.
Sorry,
Sorry,
Sorry…
Oh but that tide wasn’t my fault,
You misread the moon.
Oh but that tsunami, wasn’t my fault,
You mistook a shiver for a tremor.
Oh but those dry shores weren’t my fault,
You did it on your own.
Yes,
I gave too much.
Yes,
I gave from my abysses.
Yes,
I gave without asking for anything.
As you went hunting on higher grounds.
Tears turned into trickles.
Trickles into rivulets,
Rivulets into rivers…
Drop after drop,
Night after night,
Prayer after prayer,
My tides grew again.
There’s a secret you didn’t understand…
That light you craved,
Wasn’t my own.
That warmth you craved,
Wasn’t my own.
That love you craved,
Wasn’t my own.
It was but a reflection,
It was but a gift,
It was but a keepsake
From the One
Who fills my abysses
Who fills my heart,
Who fills my being,
Who makes my waves sparkle,
Who makes my expanse glow,
Who makes my depths deep.
He who gives life,
He who gives light,
He who gives nights
And that abundance
And that sustenance,
And that patience,
You still crave.
Tell me,
Lost forgotten mariner;
Tel me,
Lost little boy;
Tell me,
Lost empty seashell;
Don’t you know about your own ocean?
Close your eyes,
And listen.
Close your eyes,
And breathe.
Close your eyes,
And wait.
It is all in you…
What you long for,
What you die for,
What you hunt for,
It is in you.
You do not need to
charm it out
hunt it down
steal it away.
It is in you.
Find your key
Find your heart
Find your peace.
You just need to ask Him.
Honestly
Earnestly
Authentically.
No need to beg,
humans.
No need to steal,
from us.
No need to lie,
to others.
Turn to Him.
She was a huntress
She was a hungry soul
She was a lovelorn heart
As she followed that falling star
She forgot
She lost
She left behind
Gently crafted stories
Softly weaved realms
Lovingly warmed brews.
Phials full of delight
Tapisseries full of light
Words full of might.
She went on,
The moon waned and waxed.
The leaves grew and fell.
The snow frosted and melted.
She went on,
Her heart rose
Her heart burst
Her heart scattered.
She went on.. Until.
Her limbs became stone.
Her voice became a croak.
Her heart became an acorn.
The fallen stars had scattered away in a placid lake.
And she was silent.
And she was alone.
And she was defeated.
Patience.
Silence.
Fortitude.
Where should she go now?
How could she go on now?
Why should she go on now
Couldn’t move.
Couldn’t stay.
Couldn’t leave.
Roots shot from her toes.
Bark crept over her heart.
Twigs sprang from her hair.
The chase was just an illusion.
Now was starting the true transformation.
Is it painful to lose your feathers?
Is it painful to grow new wings?
Is it painful to breathe again?
Pain is the fuel of life…
How much pain in a life giving supernova.
How much pain in a life giving tempest.
How much pain in a life giving magma.
It may look like destruction
The bursting star.
The torrential rain.
The boiling fusion.
It is a destruction of
Illusions
Confusion
Passion.
And a lull…
Scattered debris orbiting into one
Water reaching deeply entwined roots.
Ashes covering the bountiful soil.
Hope will be found again…
In silent tears.
In quiet pain.
In gentle patience.
Somewhere.
Some day.
Someone.
Softly.
The huntress
The hungry soul.
The lovelorn heart,
Was a maiden again.
Barefoot
Bareheaded
Baresouled.
Here I am…
For another dance.
For another hope.
For another life.
Let it be
Let me be
Let me be free.
Layla Ali Sultan 