Do you remember,
When the world stood still.
When the morning was still.
When we both stood still.
How quiet it was.
How peaceful it was.
How fragile it was.
Listening.
Yearning.
Hoping.
They said,
It was the end of an era.
It was the end of a story.
It was the end of the world.
But we stood still…
And listened,
To the birds sighing.
And yearned,
For our hands to knot.
And hoped,
For the distance to melt-
They said,
Death, death,
Everywhere.
We said,
Love, love,
Everywhere.
And yet,
the birds kept on tweeting.
And yet,
our hands kept on yearning.
And yet,
our distance kept on hoping.
But we are still waiting.
Waiting for this page to turn,
Waiting for this fear to burn,
Waiting for this love to yearn.
Yearn,
Yearn,
Still yearning…
To hold,
To touch,
To kiss.
And still, they cry
Death,
Death,
Death!
What of those hands,
Who hold on to air?
What of those cheeks,
Who are kissed by the wind?
What of those hearts,
Who are embraced by darkness?
All those voices calling
through the curtain of rain.
All those shoulders shaking,
through the hours of night.
All those smiles fading,
Through the shield of masks.
Echo through me.
And we pray,
And we hope,
And we promise,
Once this is over…
We will hold & cherish.
We will keep & love.
We will kiss & reach.
No one will be forgotten…
Not those who kept on going.
Not those who faded away.
Not those who stumbled down.
Never forgotten.
And you,
Oh you my dear.
My hope,
My secret,
My hidden gem.
Oh you...
You hear it,
You sense it,
You feel it,
What cannot be written yet.
And I join those who are waiting.
And I join those who are yearning.
And I join those who are hoping.
As we pray…
For the night to be over,
For the masquerade to be over,
For the battle to be over…
And for the joy of homecoming.
And for the joy of reunions.
And for the joy of shared laughter.
Believing,
Hoping,
Knowing,
We will get there.
We will live through.
We will rise over.
Those shadows…
Until we reach the pale dawn.
Until we reach the crescent moon.
Until we reach the next ridge,
That little cabin in the woods.
That bright window in the night.
That open door in the cold.
… And solace.
There is a distance between us.
It’s like the veil of a misty morn.
It’s like the waves of a restless sea
It’s like the silence before dawn.
I keep my words inside a locket.
And when they start to grow.
And when they they start to blossom..
And when the start to bare fruits.
I stitch them with gold into an embroidery.
I give them wings to become prayers.
I give them a rhythm to turn them into a lullaby.
And my heart fills up,
And my heart glow away,
And my heart flow from,
All this unspoken love.
In the wordy whirlwind of this furious world.
In the constant racket of this blind horde.
In the ever growing surfeit of this starving mob,
You are a lulling whisper,
You are a gentle feather.
You are a calm haven.
When you speak,
Your words are seeds.
Your voice is a breeze.
Your prayer is an ease.
How gentle,
How calm,
How silent.
Is this the way Home?
I want to take you to the mountains
I want to dance with you in the waves.
I want to hold you in a thick forest.
Lost,
Wandering,
Lost,
but Home.
Up that slop,
By that beach,
Under those trees,
Let’s build that little cabin.
Lets build that safe fortress.
Let’s build that gentle haven.
A quiet place,
Where we can both heal.
Where we can both grow.
Where we can bot howl.
You and me.
Me and you.
Us.
Distance
stretches
crosses
collapses.
Illusions.
I hear your voice,
even if you are quiet.
You hear my voice,
even if I am far away.
We hear each other’s hearts,
even if we have never collided.
Where is that distance now?
The distance between one galaxy to the other.
The distance from a nucleolus and the membrane.
The distance between a heartbeat and a heartbeatt.
Crumbs,
Dust,
Sigh.
My love,
I am yours.
You are mine.
And we are God’s.
Space,
Time,
Mountains.
Who fears them when you have God on your side?
They sing about their day, They ask for more rice, They praise their creator
I feel like waving at them, I feel like hugging them, I feel like calling them,
But I don’t.
One wrong move, One wrong stance, One wrong word,
and they will fly away.
Like you.
But there’s a breeze…
And in a flutter, They return.
And with a tweet, They return.
And with a peck, They return.
Just like you.
The trees are bare. The walls are silent. The ground is cold.
When they are gone. When you are silent When I am alone.
Alone, so alone.
I don’t miss the crowds. I don’t miss the roars. I don’’t miss the chatter.
I miss, Flesh and bones.
I miss Warmth and truth.
I miss, Soul and heart.
You, and the birds.
You, but not them.
You. and not people.
I never tell you, I never reveal to you, I never show to you,
How much I miss your presence.
Too afraid of your flight. Too afraid of your fright. Too afraid of your fears.
Will they push me away? Will they send me away? Will they lock me away?
As you watch silently.
I don’t listen to those fears. I don’t listen to those lies. I don’t listen to those ghosts.
I greet my friend with a smile.
They flitter by.
Flickering golden leaves on the ground. Finishing the last crumbs of my lunch. Fluttering the thin branches of my cherry tree.
How gentle, How soft, How sweet!
I tend my hearth. I tend my hurts. I tend my heart.
And sweep the crumbles leaves away. And dig out the tiny radishes from the earth. And root in garlic for next summer.
Wrapped in my own melody.
The sun filters through the tattered curtain of foliage- The sun filters through the tangled curtain of my hair. The sun filter through the misty curtain in my mind.
That evanescent glow, That fading glow, That precious glow,
makes me rise and dance. makes me glimmer and grow. makes me dream and hope.
The beauty of a quiet autumn afternoon.
I wish, I pray, I hope,
to spend it with you.
Will the chirps make you want to dance? Will the golden sunset make you want to sing? Will the shivering trees make you want to hold me?
These are the questions I can never ask.
So I tell my friends,
The red breasted robin, The woodpecker, The swallows.
Maybe in a season or two,
A bird will perch on your shoulder. A bird will peck at your window. A bird wills settle in your beard
Let me embroider flowers where they have torn your soul. Let me plant flowers where they have bruised your heart. Let me spread good prayers where they have carved your mind
Let me, Will you let me?
Or will you push me away
You hear me when I am silent. You hear me when you are away. You hear me when we are drifting.
And your words startle me, And your word awaken me, And your words make me hope again.
Just like the wind, Just like a dream, Just like a feather,
You’re gone again.
I remain to myself. I return to myself. I collapse into myself-
Silence Silence and hush.
Hush, my little bird, he will return.
Hush, my little dream, he must return.
Hush, my little heart, he will return.
For the love of a butterfly wing I’ve learned to keep quiet.
For the love of a fading dawn I’ve learned to keep it low.
For the love of an unsung song I’ve learned to keep it private.
How would I like to be a bird
Singing of hope and love Seeding hope and love Winging to hope and love.
Without any fear of
the oncoming storm the ongoing war. the on-sprawling time.
Ah relentless time
that flecks my hair silver that decks my hours heavy that encircles my delicate heart.
That weaves, and weaves, relentlessly weaves.
Is there still time to wait? Is there still time to keep silent? Is there still time to hope?
There’s a hummingbird nestled against your chest, There’s a nightingale curved against your throat There’s a sparrow fluttering in your heart
Fragile Frantic; Ephemeral?
You know what the bird tweets about, You know what that flutter spells You know what that white feather means…
But do you know,
What is in your mind? What is in your heart? What is in your soul?
The wind blows through the trees. The breeze flows through my hair. The air travels through our distance.
The mountains are high and mighty. The mountains are distant and craggy. The mountains are steep and rugged.
Yet my gaze is forever locked.
The waves are fierce and deep. The waves are gentle and soft. The waves are constant and strong.
Yet your gaze is locked.
The horizon is a wavering line
Pink hues Golden dust Deep blue.
I cannot see you Yet i see you.
I cannot touch you Yet i sense you.
I cannot hold you Yet I cling to you,
Birds flutter by, Chirps whistle by, Feathers drop by.
Like messages Like mementos Like whispers.
Are you here? I am here.
Love is a gentle bruise. Love is a cold salve. Love is what cannot be said.
Those who have built for themselves a high tower. Those who have carved for themselves high windows. Those who have weaved for themselves high curtains.
The lonely, The hardy, The silent,
Those who built a refuge that could withstand high winds…
Have an inner warm glow. Have a gentle soft heart. Have delicate dreams.
No winds, No tempest, No frost
can make their fortress crumble.
But one word, But one shoot, But one sprout,
And the foundation can crack. And the walls can collapse, And the door can be unhinged.
Longing is sweet in the morning,Longing is bitter in the night,Longing is all I have.No feather touches No butterfly kisses No fluttering hearts Just the ghost of a hope.Sometimes I wonder,If I love longing more than you.If I love absence more than you.If I love silence more than you.But longing is a poisonThat seeps gentlyThat climbs quicklyThat overwhelm evidently.Longing is all have. My words are what you thirst.My words are what drives you.My words are what you hear last.In your dreams,They build you a cabin.In your dreams,They take you to another world.In your dreams,They hold you close to my heart.Words are all you have.No expectation,No demands,No promisesI insist.But I weave a cloak of dreams But I embroider a tapestry of hopeBut I knit a blanket of desires.To shield us-To cover us-To keep us -Safe.I keep on expecting for the bridge to give way.I keep on expecting for the welcoming tent to fade.I keep on expecting for the stairway to crumble.My expectation don’t weigh a thing….Desolating.Solitude.Loss.My expectation are not for your back.They are for my lonely nights.They are for my shy mornings.They are for my quiet afternoons.On and on.I don’t expect much,But I hope too much.And yet,The bridge doest doesn’t give way to the river.The tent doest fade into the searing heat.The stairways doesn’t crumble into dust.You are still here.Facing my wild winds.Facing my colorful canvases.Facing my winding thoughts.I was always too much.I was always too loud.I was always too strange.But to you,I am your homeland,You whisper.You shiver.You mouth.Yet, you are afraid to take roots in this rich soil. Yet, you are terrified of being swept off by my wild winds. Yet, you are terrified to let that new shoot reach up and grow.I tremble,I pray,I cry,…. You could leave but you never do.So I become your armor.So I become your tower.So I become your shelter.And you become a hope.And you become a whisper.And you become a dream.
Layla Ali Sultan 