Only When

only when
I let go 
could I raise my empty hands
to the sky
and dance

only then
my tears, losing salt
tasted sweet
on my parched lips

only then
love broke all barriers
and my solitude
sang your name in joy

174

Heavenwards

love of the open cage
love of the broken chain
love of the hands that hold
no begging bowl

love of the welling eyes
love of the burgeoning heart
love of the flame that rises
heavenwards

173

Loss

she weeps for her loss
her falling tears
tell her the story
of water's journey
from earth to heaven
and back as rain
over and over 
again and again
and not a single drop
ever lost

172

Harbour

Harbour
======

Anchors lifted, ropes untied
ships set sail
to their destinies.
In the harbour's depths,
does a storm rage
unseen in the quiet
letting go?

*******************************
some ships set sail
some return wearied
from distant travels
on uncertain seas
the harbour rests
with open arms

171

Imprisonment

so terrified of losing you
I clutched at nothing
grasped emptiness, 
my love became iron bars
and then they whispered in my ear
the secret of prison walls
that when I try to bind you
no one is fettered but me
that when I open locks
and let you go
I shall set myself free

170

nonetheless

fiery sun
wintry moon
pouring rain
pleasure or pain
the Sufi dances
nonetheless

169

dervish

only when
my hands were emptied
and my heart was laid bare
of all the clutter
of pleasure and pain
did I see him
at the still calm centre
the ancient dervish
whirling in ecstasy

163

web

I drool and drool 
a silken spool,
so foolishly caught
in the web of my thought
I cannot but envy
the clever spider! 

162

wind

she wept when she saw
them wilting
leaves she had thought 
were evergreen,
she wept when she found
it crumbling
love she had thought
would never die,
then she opened her fists and gave
them up to the passing wind
and the wind
in its roving restlessness
soon dried her flowing tears

161

Rain

when the first drop fell
home was still many steps away
so I slowed down
my quickening feet
feeling the wetness 
soak through to my skin
holding my face
up to the sky
I made love
to the falling rain

160

half eaten moon

in the still night sky
half eaten moon,
with timeless patience
and boundless love,
watches over
as I
on my path to fullness,
make peace with shadows

159

Elements

you gifted me

fire, water, earth,

air and the sky

slow burning embers,

razing of walls

is yours

deep pools filled, 

flowing over of eyes

is yours

fertile tenderness,

birthing of  shoots

is yours

flower scented winds,

lure of abandon

is yours

moonshine, starlight

opening wide of heart

is yours

you gifted me

fire, water, earth,

air and the sky

158

Rainbow 2

their meetings make waves
typhoons, cyclones,hurricanes
birth in the force of their passion
and when he holds her up
in his arms in the sky
they crack up the sunlight 
and beget glorious rainbows
Oh, the tumultous love affair
between water and air! 

157

fire

'The fire that is inherently present in the very nature of the wood itself' 

Whatever kind or shape of wood you have, fire will consume it."

Rainbow

light 
cracked 
splintered
scattered across the sky
ethereal spectrum of love
between water and air !

158

Time

eternally old
forever young
point of stillness
I am
in torrent of time

157

bareness

the tree in its nakedness
calls out 
as I walk past
with eyes that see 
yet do not see
feeling something akin to fear
I reach out
fingertips touching scars 
where shoots had broken out
in their greenness
flowers had come
with their promised fruits
bareness holding marks
of love's burden borne
with growing hope, I embrace
with ear pressed close, I try to hear
the rising of sap
pulled by roots running deep
and all I can hear
is the rushing of my blood

156

letting go and holding on

when yellowed leaves fall
trees love to speak
of letting go
if they find a listener
they'll tell sad tales 
of open hands 
fingers spread wide
of losing love and
hardships of winter to come
don't be fooled by their talk
good storytellers they are
for deep underneath
they know well how to hold
the earth in their grasp
silent roots spread far and wide
enmeshing, entwining
and the whole forest
is one

155

Aloneness

Pushed for long
into obscure corners
it comes seeping darkly
from under locked doors.
In ever louder whines
it calls my name
while I fill my ears
with din of the world.
O utter aloneness,
blessed silence
when will I learn
to call you my own?

154

Intoxication

when you my love, sit by my side
what need do I have of a tavern?

when in the soil of my heart, a vineyard grows
what need do I have of a tavern?

when my limbs are heavy, with fruit laden vines
what need do I have of a tavern?

when grapes crushed by your touch, yield sweet red wine
what need do I have of a tavern?

when you my love, flow in my veins
'Rwits' what need do I have of a tavern ?

153

Written as an exercise for Caferati. We had to write a ghazal in English on the theme of 'intoxication.'