Tag Archives: prayer

You Don’t Care

May 25, 2020Poemsaffair, beware, care, deleted, facing facts, grief, heart, heartache, love, personal, poem, poetry, prayer, regret, Satori Publishing, search, unrequited, You Don't Caresatoripublishing2013

No matter how hard I stare
I can’t see nothing nowhere
If only, if only you would care

I warn my heart to beware
But it keeps going back there
Hoping one day you might care

I search low, high, far and near
I search here, there, everywhere
I pray, but you still don’t care

I hoped you had some love to spare
The chambers of your heart are bare
I begged, but you still won’t care

I can’t figure out this affair
No god can answer my prayer
Nothing I can do to make you care

Now you act as if I’m not there
You have deleted the way we were
I know, I know you just don’t care.

Empty Sky

May 9, 2020Poemsbeautiful soul, blank canvas, children, clouds, dreams, Empty Sky, faith, family, food for thought, gifts, grief, heartache, higher ground, masterpiece, moon, original, personal, poem, poetry, prayer, rainbow, regret, Satori Publishing, sorrow, spirit, stars, sun, timeless, truth, universal, wondroussatoripublishing2013

What can I leave you?
Now that you don’t want me to stay
What can I give you?
Something that you won’t throw away
Now that you don’t want me or my love
Nothing left, I point to the sky above

Use the empty sky as a blank canvas
I know you can paint a masterpiece
I have faith in your gifts, I confess
One day we will both find peace
I give you more than just an empty sky
One thing to remember each other by

Paint fluffy white clouds floating in blue
Wave your hand to set off a gentle breeze
Paint birds on the wing, singing in praise of you
Sunshine yellow, the whole rainbow, pretty please
Hang the moon and stars where you will
My god, it is your empty sky to fill

I will raise my hands high to touch
The caress of your breeze, your sun on my face
Raise my hands when I miss you too much
Bless your moon glowing on my dark space
I gave you an empty sky pole to pole
You have filled it with your beautiful soul

Now that I am on the other side of the world
I too will stand under that same sky
Whenever I think of my beautiful, baby girl
Every day and night, to remember you by
I cannot look into your wonderful eyes
But I can look up at your wondrous sky.

On The Pathway

April 11, 2020Poemsaltar to Love, blessings, cascading, Creator, elegant grace, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, food for thought, naughty, On The Pathway, passion, pleasures, poem, poet, poetry, prayer, Satori Publishing, spirit, teasing, temptation, three springs of heaven, timeless, translation, truth, universal, Urdu to English, wine, wine and songsatoripublishing2013

A hundred thousand pleasures hidden in her looks
Blessings of heaven hidden in her beauty
A thousand temptations like dust under her teasing feet
Every single glance coloured by the intoxication of youth

Youth, the mere thought causes lightning to flash
Modesty, desires the companionship of the naughty
Her offering of a drunken walk causes commotion
The light of dawn pays homage to her radiant face

Tresses of dark hair cascading with multiple fragrances
Long nights spent dreaming of multiple pleasures
Those eyes which even the Creator can boast of
Poets feel ashamed trying to write verse in her praise

Those lips bestow on Spring the red of tulips
Off her shoulders flow the three springs of heaven
The robes on her soft body flatter with elegant grace
The tall, slender cypress prays in homage to her stature

All in all, that beauty is not in need of praise and fame
The beauty which is beyond human imagination
Passed by this pathway some time ago
Passed this way with much pride and splendour

Now this beautiful pathway has become deceitful at heart
Resident in this dust are the pleasures of wine and song
The breeze moves in a playful manner with seductive style
In the gentle atmosphere is the sound of soft voices

Now, on this path, that beauty is a scenic fixture
Available is an altar to bow in homage to Love.

( my translation of a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz ).

Scene

April 8, 2020Poemsbalcony, bosom, erotic, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, food for thought, lake, moon, poem, poetry, prayer, romantic, Satori Publishing, Scene, sensual, softly, timeless, translation, universal, Urdu to English, vision, winesatoripublishing2013

Along the path, shade of trees, doorway to the roof’s balcony
Above the roof, the bosom of the moon exposed, gradually
As if someone was untying her robe, slowly.
Below the balcony, shadows of a stagnant blue
A blue lake;

Quietly a bubble from some leaf ripples in the lake
Swims for a moment, floats, then bursts, softly

Very slowly, very lightly, the cool colour of wine
Poured into my glass, gently;
A glass goblet, flask, your rose-like hands
As if, far away, an image of a dream
Forms by itself, and is erased, slowly

The heart repeats the words of faith, tenderly
You said, “Softly”
Bending low, the moon said :
“Even more softly”.

(my translation of a poem by Faiz ahmed Faiz).

Prayer

April 7, 2020Poemsantidode, anxiety, declare this, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, falsehood, food for thought, higher ground, illuminate, investigate, poem, poetry, prayer, ritual, Satori Publishing, sweet antidote, timeless, translation, truth, universal, Urdu to Englishsatoripublishing2013

Come, let us also raise our hands
We who cannot recall the ritual of prayer
We who, apart from the fire of love,
Do not recall any idol, any god

Come, lay this appeal before Life, our beloved
Pour the sweet antidote of tomorrow into today’s poison
Those not strong enough to bear the weight of the times
Lighten the load, of the days and nights, on their eyelashes

Those no longer familiar with the face of dawn
Light a candle to illuminate their nights
Those whose footsteps, on any road, find no relief
Reveal to their sight the right path to travel

Those whose faith advocates falsehood and hypocrisy
May they have the courage to deny, the daring to investigate
Those who have the sword of tyranny waiting over their heads
May they gain the ability to cast off the killer’s hand

Whoever has the secret of love burning inside
Declare this today, and your burning pain will ease
The word Truth, pricks the heart like a thorn
Declare this today, and your anxiety will ease.

( my translation of a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz ).

Hum Dekhenge (We Shall Witness)

January 3, 2020Poemscall to arms, culture, cutting edge, death knell for dictators, facing facts, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, food for thought, higher ground, Hum Dekhenge, Inspiration, inspire, justice, Kaaba, oppressed, poem, poetry, prayer, rebellion, revolutionary, Satori Publishing, spirit, timeless, translated from Urdu, translation, truth, tyranny, universal, Urdu to English, visionary, We Shall Witnesssatoripublishing2013

We shall witness
Inevitable that we too shall witness
The day which has been promised
Written on the tablet of eternity
We shall witness

When mountains of tyranny will be rend asunder
Blown away like cotton fluff
Under the aching feet of the oppressed
The earth will tremble, quake, and shudder
And over the heads of the brutal rulers
The lightning will flash, strike, and thunder
We shall witness

When from the Kaaba, on god’s sacred earth,
All idols will be removed
We the dispossessed, exiled from the holy place,
Will be seated on cushioned thrones
All crowns will be flung aloft
All seats of power will be overturned
We shall witness

The only name to remain will be Allah
He who is absent and omnipresent
He who is the creator and the beholder
The clarion call “I am the Truth” will rise
As I am, so are you
And we, creations of God, will reign

We shall witness
As I am, so are you
We shall witness
Inevitable that we too shall witness
We shall witness.

( My take on a poem by the peerless, and ever-relevant, Faiz Ahmed Faiz).

I Try Not To

December 25, 2019Poemsash, children, darkest thought, facing facts, family, food for thought, grief, hurt, I Try Not To, living dead, memory, original, pain, personal, poem, poetry, prayer, regret, Satori Publishing, the basics, think of you, timeless, truth, universalsatoripublishing2013

I try not to think of you
It hurts too much, the pain too hard to bear
I try not to think of you
In my heart I know, you do not care

The thought I cannot shake off
My weakness is the mistake that will cost
I am no longer worthy of your love
Pay the price, all is lost, all is lost

In the ash still are warm memories of you
I am living dead without you
My heart signals my mind to think of you
I try not to.

Deathbed

August 5, 2019Poemschildren, Deathbed, facing facts, family, fathers and sons, food for thought, legacy, memory, original, personal, poem, poetry, prayer, regret, Satori Publishing, sorrow, spirit, timeless, too late, universalsatoripublishing2013

He, your father,
said, ‘Ghulam Qadir’ …

You, my father,
will say, ‘Zafar …’

A legacy of ‘hate’
The wait … and … too late.

Tonight

August 5, 2019Poemscasually, grief, heartache, love, luscious, memory, original, passion, personal, poem, poetry, prayer, romantic, Satori Publishing, spirit, timeless, Tonight, universalsatoripublishing2013

Tonight a glacier freezes my burning heart
You pierced it so casually with a careless dart
Once our hearts beat together but now they’re far apart
Women have got saying goodbye down to a fine art
The end is always so different from the start.

Tonight a desert spreads to every corner of my bed
Next to me is the empty pillow on which you once lay your head
Soon someone else will feast on your luscious body instead
Our love was brief but the endless grief fills me with dread
Tomorrow’s sun will never warm my soul that is now dead.

Tonight I lie awake in memory of you
The thoughts that chill me like icy dew
‘You only loved me half as much as I love you’
‘I was just a phase you were going through’
My love, how am I going to live without you?

Militant

July 29, 2019Poemsaspire, culture, cutting edge, dream, facing facts, family, food for thought, higher ground, hope, Inspiration, inspire, justice, lifestyle, memory, Militant, original, personal, poem, poetry, prayer, revolution, Satori Publishing, spirit, the basics, timeless, truth, universal, visionary, wishsatoripublishing2013

What do I want above all?

I want to work hard, make an honest living
To love and respect my mother and father
To take care of them in their old age
To look out for my brothers and sisters
To get married, and try to live happily ever after
To love and respect my wife, build a home together
To have children, love and provide for them
To watch them grow, run around, go to school
To guide them on their way in the world
To laugh and cry, go to weddings and funerals
To mix with family, relatives, and friends
To be part of the day to day soap opera
To work, pay tax, pay bills, to scrimp and save
To have a roof over my head on a rainy day
To one day be able to play with my grandchildren

The same as you.

Azad!!

July 27, 2019Poemsaspire, Azad, brash, culture, cutting edge, facing facts, food for thought, freedom, higher ground, India, injustice, Inspiration, justice, Kashmir, lies, occupation, original, Pakistan, passion, personal, poem, poetry, prayer, revolution, Satori Publishing, spirit, the basics, timeless, truth, universal, visionarysatoripublishing2013

What have we always wanted?
The one thing we always wanted?
Azadi!

From day one you made the wrong choice
From day one you refused to listen to our voice
Azadi!

Your army seven hundred thousand strong
Occupation, torture, rape, murder, so, so strong
Azadi!

Branded us terrorists, you sold it so well
The world bought it, we went through hell
Azadi!

We are more than willing and able
We will win at the negotiating table
Azadi!

We have paid the price with our blood
Our prayers have been answered by God
Azadi!

The countless dead, the rivers of blood
Now freedom is rushing forward like a flood
Azadi!

For the first time we control the narrative
We asked and asked, now you have to give
Azadi!

Truth, justice, freedom, the stars are aligned
The world on our side, the treaty will be signed
Azadi!

There was only one way this could end
You cannot deny us, Kashmir is OUR land
Azadi!

In order to get out of the quagmire
The enemy has to be free of Kashmir
Azadi!

Go back to your own country
I am free … I now set you free
Azadi!

Heaven on earth, Kashmir
Kashmir, Azad Kashmir
Azad!!

Amputation

July 22, 2019PoemsAmputation, Daughter, family, Father, food for thought, grief, heartache, love, original, passion, personal, poem, poetry, prayer, Satori Publishing, timeless, universal, unrequitedsatoripublishing2013

After years of stop … pause … stay … or go
In dread I came to your room to say goodbye
Gingerly I made small talk … to stifle the cry
Too afraid to ask for one last hug, one last kiss
(My medicine, your magic hug, your healing kiss)
It would have killed me to hear you say ‘No’.