Original Free Verse

Hey guys! I just came up with some poems last night. I went to sleep real late so please read them so my effort won't go to waste! :) Ponder them, comment and tell me your thoughts and suggestions. Thanks!

Difference

Snow rain

Sun moon

Tear dimple

Bland color

Shiver comfort

You me

Writing is Secret

The tip of a pen

Carries an impatient drop of ink.

The  writing utensil is used for

Only my most deep thoughts,

emotions are attached

to its drop

for it to spill

and bleed to spread to form letters, words,

to fill a page.

My feelings.

Solitude is

Best.

Spoken

Hearing yourself

Speak the insightful words aloud of The Holy Book

Is not a coat button,

Does not obligate strained effort

But a zipper,

For which the motions of the mouth

Flow easily when said and savor,

relish each phrase.

A zipper

may get stuck when confused

But, God willing,

Will fix and continue again

To stop at the end

Of the coat.

- Of the Book.

Kindness

Warmth radiates

From yourself

By one thing.

Warmth of the soul

Mind

Body

And heart

Comes not from a mere blanket

Or a funny saying

Or a good book.

Not unless

Warmth radiates from you

Out of you

Transferring around you.

Wild Animals

I can endure

Anything

Everything

But most certainly not a broken heart.

Whip me, put my finger in the flame

But really

Do.

Not.

Demoralize His name -

Cause worry or grief of any of the various sickening kinds

 to the creation of God.

Call me soft, if that is an insult in your terms

Though I wonder the logic if everyone knows what it’s like, how it feels .

We are no different than wild animals.

No

I’m wrong.

Not even boars, poisonous snakes do this

I cannot stand to see another human,

The most sensitive creature

Of which only and only Lord knows its insides

Whoever he or she shall be, righteous or not,

In mental pain.

For that is what causes God much pain,

And me the same.

Unexpected

Planted a seed

In a cloud

Until out of it grew a tree.

I watered it

Watered it

Watered it

Till it rained.

Gardens below, on earth, flourished

Overpopulating, multiplying

Till I needed another cloud.

I Can Do What I Want To

I want to be able to

Keep up

Remember

Freeze time

As every splash from the grey sky

Hits the lake.

As every leaf from a dry branch of fig

Lands on

Cold dirt.

But then again

I could witness the departure of each petal of a tulip

From its stem

By taking it apart

Myself.

For more, go to the Poetry page. :)
Peace & love.
Aysha

Bulleh Shah

Abdullah, more commonly known as Bulleh, Shah was a Sufi poet, humanist, and philosopher from the Punjab province of modern-day Pakistan. (Lived c. 1680-1757.) His family claimed to be direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. His poetry is similar to those of Baba Farid, Shah Hussain, Sachal Sarmast - [[by pen name]], literally meaning Truthful Mystic, and Shah Sharaf amongst others. The style of poetry used by these individuals is called Kafi. Kafi is said to be derived from the Arabic poetry genre and includes great heroic tales metaphorical for/symbolizing mystical truths and spiritual longings. It is a classical form of Sufi poetry, mostly in Punjabi, Sindhi, and Seraiki languages.

According to Wikipedia, "Bulleh Shah's time was marked with communal strife between Muslims and Sikhs. But in that age Baba Bulleh Shah was a beacon of hope and peace for the citizens of Punjab. While Bulleh Shah was in Pandoke, Muslims killed a young Sikh man who was riding through their village in retaliation for murder of some Muslims by Sikhs. Baba Bulleh Shah denounced the murder of an innocent Sikh and was censured by the mullas and muftis of Pandoke. Bulleh Shah maintained that violence was not the answer to violence."

Shah's writings described problems of life of that time in his motherland, Punjab, alongside searching for God. His advice provided solutions to those problems through the power of his pen. Many, many bands and artists today sing his words, from classical to hard rock to alternative. Two of my favorite include the song Bandya in the 2007 movie Khuda Kay Liye, or In the Name of God [[which was a reeeeeally great movie]] and the famous Bulla Ki Jaana Main Kaun. My favorite version of that song is by the Sikh Indian, Rabbi Shergill.
You can watch its creative music video here.

Bulla Ki Jaana Main Kaun
Bulla, ki jaana main kaun
Bulla, ki jaana main kaun

Na main moman vich maseetan
Na main vich kufar dian reetan
Na main pakan vich paleetan

Na main andar bed kitaban
Na main rehnda bhaang sharaban
Na main rehnda mast kharaban

Na main shadi na ghamnaki
Na main vich paleetan pakeen
Na main aaabi na main khaki

Na main aatish na paun
Bulla ki jaana main kaun

Na main arabi na lahori
Na main hindi shehar nagaori
Na hindu na turk pashauri

Na main bhet mazhab de paya
Na main aadam hawwa jaya
Na koi apna naam dharaya

Avval-aakhar aap nu jana
Na koi dooja hor pacchana
Maithon na koi har syana

Bulle shauh Kharha hai kaun
Bulla ki jaana main kaun


Translation -

Says Bulla,
who knows who I am!
I am not in the mosque of the believer,
Nor in false rites.
I am not in the pure or the impure.
Neither Moses nor Pharaoh.
Says Bulla, who knows who I am!

I am not in the Vedas or holy books,
Not in drug or wine.
Not in the drunkards wasted intoxication,
Not in wakefulness or sleep.
Says Bulla, who knows who I am!

I am not in sorrow nor in joy,
Neither in clean nor unclean.
I am not water, I am not earth,
I am not fire, I am not air.
Says Bulla, who knows who I am!

I am not from Arabia or Lahore,
Nor from India or Nagaur.
Neither a hindu or muslim from Peshawar,
Nor do I live in Nadaun.
Says Bulla, who knows who I am!
I cannot be unearthed in the mysteries of religion.

I was not born of Adam and Eve.
I am not the name I assume.
I am not in stillness, not in movement.
Finally, I only know myself.
I cannot know any other.
Who could be wiser than I?
Bulla asks, who then, stands here?
Says Bulla, who knows who I am!

--Aysha

Rumi

Asalaamu Alaikum (May the peace and blessings of God be upon you.)

We were assigned a project in World History II class, the topic being "Revolution, Reaction, Reform."

Who did I pick for this great assignment in which I was surprisingly ecstatic about?

Rumi, of course.

Rumi is not just America's, but the world's best selling poet. And I am definitely one of his bajillion fans. Jalal ud Din Rumi was a Sufi Muslim born on September 30, 1207 in Balkh, a city of the Persian Empire or modern-day Afghanistan. This mystical whirling dervish was also known as "Melvana" or "Mawlana." Melvana was known for his tolerance of all religions :

"Christian, Jew, Muslim, shaman, Zoroastrian, stone, ground, mountain, river,

each has a secret way of being with the mystery, unique and not to be judged."

His major themes are love and religion. According to wikipedia, "His poetry has influenced Persian literature as well as Urdu, Punjabi and other Pakistani languages written in Perso/Arabic script e.g. Pashto and Sindhi. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages and transposed into various formats." His most famous works include Masnavi, Diwan-e-Shams-e-Tabrizi [[which was 35,000 couplets!]] and Fihi ma Fihi. He influenced many, many other great individuals including Sir Muhammad "Allama," or scholar, Iqbal. The most sketchy part of his life was that his best companion Shams-e-Tabrizi whom he never left behind, killed Rumi's son. If that has any truth to it, I find it quite creepy...

So for the project, I went to the public library [[which was renovated and it looks freaking amazing! I want to stay there all night in the comfy seats with a huge mug of hot chocolate]] to get two books, and my school library to get one.
From the public library: The Glance - Rumi translated by Coleman Barks; this one is so pretty, don't ya think? Rumi: The Big Red Book [Ah! I love this one. <3]
From the school library: Poetry Rocks!-World Poetry: "Evidence of Life," This one was aiiight. It barely had any Rumi, but it included Hafiz which was a plus.

 

So yeah. I am obsessed.

S u n l i g h t

Sunlight, fill this house again,

delighting friends, blinding enemies.

Come from behind the mountain.

Turn all stones red.

Ripen back the grapes gone sour.

Dress the fields, the garden, and the pasture,

with strands of every color.

Cure the lovers.

Let your face be openly here,

not covered with cloud.

Clarify what is

with direct, unfiltered, light.

From Rumi:The Big Red Book.

Also, I really want to praise this amazinggg blog - Faith786 . [[Click to see it.]] Her blog is a lot like mine except it's actually good...and people actually read it :D. She has the same interests, especially in poets (i.e. Hafiz and Rumi.) And she writes her own poems, and they're very good. Take a look at her blog if you want to see more poems by Rumi and others.

And last but not least, if you're looking for Islamic quotes, this site is so efficient. Just refresh the page for a new quote every time : Drops of Wisdom

PS - Please check out my newly updated Poetry page! Thanks :)

Khuda Hafiz (Translation: May God be your Guardian, or under the protection of God.) Always nice to greet and farewell someone with thoughtful words.

--Aysha

It is Friday.

I really do wish people would go to school to actually learn. I'd love to go to school then.

Sometimes I feel really annoyed of myself. I am constantly thinking of things that a normal teen wouldn't. That's not a bad thing at all. But being one of 'them' is so easy, and that's why I need to understand that that's exactly the point. The easy way out, is absolutely not the right way. Like the band. The Fray, said in their song All at Once, "Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same."

And it's weird to think about the shallow worthless lives of the people my age around me are living. In school, I think it to myself all the time:

Where the heck am I?
Everyone here is so dumb.
I need to get out of here.
Why are they all talking about the weirdest, most pointless things?
WHYYYY do I always sit at this lunch table of self-centered freaks only to regret it two seconds later?
Ewww.
What time is it? I can't wait until school's over today so I can get away from these people.
I can't wait until I am in college.
Scratch that; can't wait until I graduate college and move to Pakistan.

Because I have disgust for the adolescents of my town, I always just want to think about only change, inspiration, God.
And it doesn't get me anywhere. Why? Because hating people while praying to God Allmighty is useless if I am preventing exactly what I am asking from Him. I need to stop disliking people because it's wrong, and that's what I need to do before truly asking the Lord for help.

“Nothing is difficult if you seek it through your Lord, Nothing is easy if you seek it through yourself.”
-Ibn Ata’allah

So last night I came up with like 5 or 6 poems. Most of them just came to me. Here's a couple of them. Enjoy.

Raindrops & Disdain. Aysha Adrees. 10.6.11

                Raindrops of faith

                Fall into my palms

While I hold up my soaked hands

to make a prayer.

The raindrops must

evaporate

for the process

to start again.

----------------------------------

I was of desperation,

Left behind

the important.

Caught up
in frustration,
I do see.

And now, I am of
humiliation.

Hint. The raindrops symbolize, or are equivalent to, faith. The message is actually quite simple. (:

Much love,

      Aysha