My Work - Poetry

Illuminations in a Valley without Vegetation

We have come to You
Repeating: "Here we are, at Your service .. here we are .. here we are"
With longing carrying us on wings:
A longing to You
And a longing for Your forgiveness.
We have come to You from all corners of the earth
We have come with an eye on the joys of life
But with both eyes on the bounties of the second life
O Lord! Bestow forgiveness upon us ..
* * * * * *

We have come to You from near and far,
Answering Your call,
Chanting the praise of Your glory
Until our chanting fills the sky.
Walking on land kissed by the feet of prophets.
We have come to You disheveled in our simple attire,
With no adornments and no sewn dresses.
We have come devoid of pride.
We have come with our longing and hopes,
With our overflowing prayers.
We have come with all these crowds, all these millions,
With streams of tears,
Calling You between reverence and praise.
And You are the all-seeing and all-hearing.
We have come with eager steps from all directions
To Mount Arafat
Floating on wings of words of praise for you.
We have come with our love and longing
To cast off the burden of our years into your valley
So Lord accept our repentance and do forgive.
* * * * * * *

When I stepped into your glorious Grand Mosque
And saw the splendor of your Holy Kaba
I felt a surge of longing in my chest swelling
And felt delight .. delight ..
I was drowned in happiness.
I tried to reach the Black Stone
But human waves of Your loving disciples swept me,
And forced me to give up.
So I flew to it with my soul and kissed it like the morning light
And my heart flew to the Moltazem
And when my heart clung to the cover of your Holy Kaba
I felt I was granted a dream ..
That Your eyes were guarding over me.
When I drank Zamzam water to my heart's fullfillment
I felt I was completely cleansed
And that my heart, which had been parched by sins
Was flowering within my ribs like a rose crowned by morning dew
Diffusing the fragrance of roses.
I was swept by the great moment
The tears running down my cheeks.

Makkah, 1984