The wolves are back.
Roaming
Perusing
Owning
Knowing no borders.
Lock your doors,
Close your shutters,
Draw your curtains,
And let them roam…
As that brave soul steps into a new world.
Beyond the sea
Beyond the mountains
Beyond the woods
How far he has walked.
Never to turn back
Never to run back
Never to look back.
It's destiny;
Written in that Book
Written in that hand
Written in that horizon.
That land he has crossed into
That land he has been invited into
That land he has set camp into
Was once so lush
Was once so green
Was once so fragrant.
Oh so very wild!
Oh so very pure!
Oh so very fresh!
A sight to behold!
A sight to cherish!
A sight to protect!
Vulnerable
Free
Pristine.
But it was discovered…
By the wrong eyes.
By the wrong heart.
By the wrong hands.
Pillaged.
Emptied.
Sullied.
Until that magical kingdom was bereft of its beauty.
The invaders left
The usurpers left
The pirates left.
Autumn covered the earth
Winter swept through the woods
Spring sprinkled the fields
Summer flourished across the orchards.
Once
Twice.
Will they return?
Fear in the mist
Ghosts in the marshes
Memories in the ponds.
A newcommer.
A wayfare
A stranger
Will he destroy?
The land was quiet.
The kingdom was bare.
The fields were waiting.
Tendrils after tendrils
Pebbles after pebbles
Drops after drops
He gave new life to this silent land.
No conqueror here
A gardener
A tender
A protector
Of all this is fair
Of all that is pure
Of all that is gold.
Don’t give me luscious roses,
if you’re not going to stay.
Don’t give me pretty words,
if you’re not going to stay.
Don’t give me high hopes,
if you’re not going to stay.
My heart is a tower
My heart is a mountain
My heart is a galaxy
Unreachable
Some like to climb mountains
to claim them.
Some like to destroy towers,
to conquer them.
Some like to blast galaxies,
to erase them.
Try as they might,
my heart keeps on beating.
It doesn’t beat for me.
It doesn’t beat for them.
It beats our her Creator.
But you see…
The little girl is starting to get lost
The young woman is staring to lose it.
This woman is starting to become tired.
So tired.
I wish I could rest on that shoulder.
I wish I could rest against that chest.
I wish I could rest between these hands.
Would I be safe enough?
But it isn’t for me to decide.
My life,
Your life,
Our destinies
Are not in our hands.
Don’t bring me roses
If you cannot hear my voice
If you cannot feel my soul
If you cannot get my drift.
Do not send me texts
No, good mornings.
No, good nights,
No, cute emojis;
If you are as light as a leaf blown away.
My roots go deep,
My trunk is thick,
My branches reach high…
High
Higher
and higher
Flies my soul;
Unreachable
Untameable
Unreadable
Liked a bird.
Say what you want
Do what you must
Go where you go.
I shall keep on rising.
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
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.
My sparrow,
My wing,
My love
You find me hesitant.
You find me shy.
You find me gentle.
But you don’t know about the wind.
It blew through my curtains,
It tore into my ears
It burned my heart.
He’s gone now.
Gone,
Disappeared,
Vanished.
He didn’t ask
He didn’t want
He didn’t care
But I gave,
And I gave,
And I gave.
He left,
but his memory wouldn’t leave.
He left,
but his words wouldn’t leave.
He left,
but his ghost wouldn’t leave.
Until you came along.
Spring in autumn,
Summer in winter.
Joy in my tears,
Hope in my pleas.
Will you leave too?
Once the roses have crumpled,
Once the birds have flown,
Once the leaves have scattered.
Will you leave too?
I’ve loved before but never like this,
As we laugh, we are both children,
As we cry we are both a wreckage,
As we long we are both free souls.
Yet,
I am not yours,
You are not mine,
We are neither’s…
Yet.
Layla Ali Sultan 