The sun will rise and set again,
the stars will always twinkle
and the night flows away
from the day and the
universe will grow like
the space expanding
inside my heart
and there are souls uniting
with one another
and the Ultimate Will
has come to stay in
a cold of clay.
Life blooms in every moment
and every instance takes
me a little closer to God.
The clock ticks and in each
second I can hear
the music of the universe.

Though not the emperor
Of melody
He was surely some prince
What enchanting fairy
Flew him away?
What living wave
Set him afloat?

An illuminated atmosphere
Sight enhancing
(Seen through the windows of sense)
Embraced a secret

When the mist cleared
From thought and vision
There came news
Sweet to the soul
From the city of union

A maker of melody
Made a kingdom of light
To Truth’s disciple
Fell the glory of Mansoor.

• I think of God as the Creator of all,
• Men, women and creatures, big and small.
• I think of God as the sole origin of Light.
• I think of Him as the source of all might.
• In God’s Laws love surrounds all creatures,
• All races of human beings irrespective of features.
• All the animals on arable lands and deep water,
• Receive their sustenance from Him for ever and ever.
• God is more beautiful than all beautiful flowers,
• To Him belongs all praise, glory, grandeur and power.
• God is most gracious Lord, forgiver and sublime.
• He is omnipresent, transcending space and time.

To the sitar’s slow unwinding
gestures unfold
and ankle-bells shiver into shape
the wait that must be endured, expressed
while the tabla’s impetuousness
lets fly rose-petals from her wrists
like fluttering heart-beats.

Fingers, blur in motion
and palms cascade or smother notes
at the dark heart of the tabla.
So much longing
In so many variations
a few fingers entice
out of a simple reed-flute.

Perspiration appears like a sheen
of desire on the neck and cheeks.
Shadows, the dancer’s centre-stage movements
repeat in black tribute.
Ankle-bells, tabla, flute, all
reiterate with equal passion
her mobile waiting for his coming.

Through the darkness and through the mist,
Though the darkness, here found, is darkest,
In a land that it seems light has forsaken,
Is the land where, by some evil means, I have been taken.
Every breath inhaled is filled with fear,
Every moment the awful conviction: danger is near.
The silence unnerving, the darkness untamed,
My heart quickly beating, my feelings disdained.

Figures emerge as the darkness gives way,
But the light that shines now is a miserable grey.
Though the darkness is split, the mist rolls on,
And the shadows still move, something is wrong.
A scream is heard, another soon after,
My breathing grows steadily faster and faster.
I make to flee through the dark, but am surrounded,
My cause for panic is now well founded.

Demons, approached with eyes of flame,
From the deepest pits of Hell it seems they came,
Sharp claws and teeth for their wicked intention,
To perform tortures so cruel I cannot them mention.
Cruelty and malice displayed on their faces,
I close my eyes, for death my body now braces,
But nothing happened, no action, no sound,
Silence is more daunting and distressing I have found.

A blaze of light; the shadows are no more,
I am more terrified now than I ever was before.
Surrounded by flames and no where to run,
I am forced to pay for the wrongs I have done.
Bound in chains, I am taken away,
I have no more to feel, think, do or say.
Through the pain and torment, I desperately send
One single prayer, ‘God, please let this end.’