All trees must die.
Some turn into ashes in a blaze.
Some cave into their rotten inside.
Some are pulled out from their roots.
The first day is horrendous.
Birds chirp nervously and fly to and fro.
Squirrels screech indignantly and hop into the emptiness.
Children look up anxiously running up and down.
Where did it go?
I’d rather your stomp remained.
I’d rather your roots remained,
I’d rather your bark remained.
Keeping me anchored on this earth.
Lonely sentinel, tell me…
Where are your forefathers?
Where are your mothers?
Where are your brothers?
You are surrounded by
Bricks
Concrete
Tired tired old houses.
But where are your people ?
I know a pine tree just like you,
across that field.
I know an oak tree just like you
on the other end of that road.
I know a beech just like you
behind that house.
They remember too…
When my own people were not here.
And you swayed,
And you stood,
And you rose,
in the thick mist.
over the marshes.
into everlasting woods.
For centuries,
For millenniums,
For light years.
Or not…
Fire, your enemy, always existed.
Wind, your enemy, always existed.
Hale, your enemy, always existed.
My forehead against your bark.
My lips against your leaves.
My fingers entwined in your shoots.
Tell me, tell me…
Of the great abyss of your history.
Of the great bitterness of your history.
Of the great melody of your history.
Yes, that song…
I hear, when the winds blows,
I learn, when the breeze rises.
I join, when the night falls.
And time doesn’t mean anything anymore.
I stand with you,
against the storm.
I brace with you,
against the cold.
I rise with you,
against all odds.
And we long for dawn.
And we long for spring.
And we long for forests.
Together,
We’ll last longer.
Together,
We’ll rise higher.
Together,
We’ll grow deeper.
A happy homely forest.
To keep your scars safe.
To keep my anguish safe.
To keep our hope safe.
My might oak,
My tender aspen,
My gentle maple.
I know how lonely you are.
I know how scared you are.
I know how brave you are.
As you waver.
As you shiver.
As you shudder.
Losing limbs,
Losing leaves,
Losing space.
and yet you endure….
Like a prayer,
Like a dream,
Like a hope…
Resilient.
An acorn tumbling on the ground.
A stem rising from the ground.
A trunk reaching for the sky.
How utterly beautiful.
How deeply moving.
How softly yearning.
For that hope rooted in you.
For that gentleness weaved in you.
For that richness drooping from you.
My shelter,
My strengthener
My reviver.
Ever growing.
Under His Grace,
Under His Bounty,
Under His Care.
03/04/21
There is the desire to plunge,
There is the desire of the abyss,
There is the desire of the darkness.
Just forget it.
Just let it rot.
Just let it dry.
Why even bother?
Oh but there’s also a scent.
From a flower,
both familiar yet exotic.
Oh but there’s also a song.
From a voice,
both familiar yet foreign.
Oh but there’s a hope.
From a name,
Both familiar yet outlandish.
All mingled,
All intertwined,
All melting.
Into a single burst.
Is it divine love?
Your branches are too heavy,
to carry me.
Your core is too hollow,
to hold me.
Your stem is too thin,
to find me.
But your roots are so deep…
Under the cool darkness,
Under the cover of dreams,
Under the rich canopy of life,
Our souls meet,
Our hearts beat,
Our souls merge.
I am not strong either.
My wings are tired,
My song is wavering.
My flight is halted.
How to go?
Where to go?
When to go?
Must I leave?
I ask the ever glimmering stars.
I ask the ever roaring winds.
I ask the ever rising sun.
What would they know?
I turn inward,
I turn upward,
I turn, turn and turn Home.
Hush,
Let me listen.
Heart,
Soul,
Time,
Hush,
Let me listen.
Deep,
deep in the night.
Late,
late in the tide.
Far,
far away from you.
There’s a mournful cry.
There’s a longing plea.
There’s a soft surrender.
What is spoken to a heart,
What is poured in a soul,
What is etched in a mind,
from Above,
Cannot be explained.
Cannot be written.
Cannot be rhymed.
And yet I try.
The waves crash over us.
The mountains rise over us.
The dust storms rise over us.
And there’s only one thought…
I must hold on to that branch.
I must hold on to that hope.
I must hold on to that song.
Oh they rage,
those squalls.
Oh they rage,
those thoughts.
Oh they rage,
those hours.
But I hold on…
Losing my feathers,
Losing my direction,
Losing my tune,
Have I lost it?
Yet,
All tempest must end…
And tomorrow,
I will pour my love to your heart.
And tomorrow,
We will pray from our soul and heart.
And tomorrow,
We will watch those flowers blossom in our heart.
For,
that garden belongs to both of us
For,
those prayers belong to both of us.
For,
that heart belong to both of us.
You & me.
Me & you.
Us.
There’s no turning back, isn’t it?
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?
Layla Ali Sultan 