lyrics in paradise
shabbir banoobhai
First
published in 2009
Author
and publisher
Shabbir
Banoobhai
All
rights reserved. No part of this
collection
may be copied, reproduced, stored
or
transmitted in any form without the prior
written
approval of the publisher.
©
Shabbir Banoobhai
Email
address: shabbir@iafrica.com
Website:
www.veilsoflight.com
Cover
Design
Sumayya
Essack – Dizzy Blue Dezign
Based
on a photograph by
Krishnachandran
U
found
in the website: www.sxc.hu
and
gratefully used with his permission
Email
address: sumayyaessack@gmail.com
Edited
by: Peter Strauss
Printed
by: Mega Digital,
ISBN 978-0-620-44489-7
for those who love innocence
contents
the lyrics in your eyes
o cloud o shivering rain
when middays are dark
not all the talk of paradise
greener blues, deeper hues
whirling dervishes of light
not as easy on our eyes
for everything good
darker than the darkest night
this garden goes where the gardener goes
sun days
what century have i stumbled on
an upstart in paradise
before i leave this place of bliss
perhaps i needed to be back
when love burns, we call it sun
musical instruments
river flowing, light fading
i give you the earth as a jewel
after this love nothing is the same
when love seeks, it becomes a lover
do not venture into the valley of love
what exists before love
love is the mirror of the soul
how can we become fire
what we invest is what we receive
all night long
for a flame to be known
got up this morning with a start
we have to be learned
in your world
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
there are times when
no me, no my, no i
it’s raining music in the spheres
everywhere where
i hold myself close to you
everywhere, the silence grows
a safe terrain is not for those
somewhere where
●●●
the lyrics in your eyes
lyrics in paradise
the oceans swell within
the mountains deep inside
the stars have left the sky
to find where light begins
now nestling in your heart
what else but myriad stars
the waves so like your hair
love, wind-caressing care
lyrics in paradise
the lyrics in your eyes
the oceans swell within
love, wind-caressing care
the mountains deep inside
the waves so like your hair
the stars have left the sky
what else but myriad stars
to find where light begins
now nestling in your heart
the lyrics in your eyes
lyrics in paradise
●●●
o cloud o shivering rain
o mist o veil of pain
o earthly paradise
o promise o your eyes
o sunlight in a grain
o root o hope o flower
o eternally stolen hour
o desert o night o moon
o life of new longing
o love o new belonging
o mist o veil of pain
o cloud o shivering rain
o earthly paradise
o love o new belonging
o promise o your eyes
o life of new longing
o sunlight in a grain
o desert o night o moon
o root o hope o flower
o eternally stolen hour
o cloud o shivering rain
o mist o veil of pain
●●●
when middays are dark
often midnights are bright
sleeping when it’s dawn
drawing curtains across light
even then our eyes
are no strangers to paradise
glimpsing into our hearts
at the strangest hour
finding the curtains burning
burning without fire
often midnights are bright
when middays are dark
finding the curtains burning
burning without fire
glimpsing into our hearts
at the strangest hour
even then our eyes
are no strangers to paradise
sleeping when it’s dawn
drawing curtains across light
when middays are dark
often midnights are bright
●●●
not all the talk of paradise
not all this wonderland of
promise
not all the flames of desire
nor all the fear of some fire
can overcome a heart’s great
need
to find you, not in robes of
light
not upon a glorious throne
not in heavens that are countless
but in the simpleness of hope
in the endlessness of beauty
in the painfulness of loss
in the senselessness of grief
in ripening or in rotting
fruit
in calm or in storm-angry
seas
in everything good or bad
or in between
in everything we hold on to
where you have to be
so that you can be
in everything you want to be
●●●
greener blues, deeper hues
ripe red, light like dew
empty canvas, empty shelf
reflections of an empty self
darker light, lighter dark
what secrets in a spark
beauty lit from within
with no need of pen or ink
ripe blues, red hues
greener light, deeper dew
inexhaustible the ocean
of grace and devotion
darker light, lighter dark
what secrets in a spark
if only they could be seen
if only we could end this
dream
deeper blues, greener hues
light red, ripe like dew
●●●
whirling dervishes of light
dancing deep into the night
lighting in your hearts a
fire
extinguishing a deep desire
born anew at every swirl
born as you whirl and whirl
whirling dervishes of light
dancing deep into the night
your teacher and your friend
guiding you until the end
grants a gift to those who
love
an axis of longing and
resolve
whirling dervishes of light
dancing deep into the night
never faltering as you turn
a light frees you in return
to love until your very
essence
reveals its own deeper
presence
whirling dervishes of light
dancing deep into the night
free to love you finally find
in love itself the divine
in your hearts a hidden
treasure
beauty, grace, without
measure
whirling dervishes of light
dancing deep into the night
●●●
not as easy on our eyes
is the other paradise
where everything is soon remiss
without love and forgiveness
drying branches, falling
leaves
uprooted hopes, futile griefs
what makes us endure it all
but knowing we too must fall
like ripe fruit that has no
pride
once we find we cannot hide
our fading beauty, then we
see
that falling itself sets us
free
not as easy on our eyes
is the other paradise
living on through what lives
on
loving on through what still
loves
finding in the dying light
beyond the vision of our sight
wood to gather, wood to burn
memories of the endless hurts
that haunt us till we come to
rest
accepting we have done our
best
and then the song of grace is
heard
the song we first heard at our
birth
not as easy on our eyes
is the other paradise
●●●
for everything good
there is something higher
each cool breeze
courts its own fire
every fruit
in every tree
is seeded with
its own destiny
for everything good
there is something higher
each cool breeze
courts its own fire
paradise can be found
and paradise can be lost
but love always
returns to its owner
for everything good
there is something higher
each cool breeze
courts its own fire
every fruit
in every tree
is seeded with
its own destiny
for everything good
there is something higher
each cool breeze
courts its own fire
●●●
darker than the darkest night
are the fears deep inside
when we can no longer find
a light we left so far behind
we cannot even remember
why
its memory still makes us cry
darker than the darkest night
are the fears deep inside
so what can free us of our
need
for hidden fruit in hidden
seed
how can we be free at last
from the misery we have cast
darker than the darkest night
are the fears deep inside
until searching for what is
wise
we find an inner paradise
on the tree of love, about to
fly
a bird preparing for the sky
darker than the darkest night
are the fears deep inside
●●●
this garden goes where the gardener goes
this garden knows what the gardener knows
this garden grows what the gardener knows
this garden is light, when we
are light
this garden is dark, when we
are dark
this garden is a mountain to
a mountain-climber
this garden is a reef to a deep-sea
diver
this garden goes where the gardener goes
this garden knows what the gardener knows
this garden grows what the gardener knows
this garden is dark, when we
are dark
this garden is light, when we
are light
this garden is an asset to an
asset-manager
this garden is a lighthouse
to a lighthouse-keeper
this garden goes where the gardener goes
this garden knows what the gardener knows
this garden grows what the gardener knows
this garden is light, when we
are light
this garden is dark, when we
are dark
this garden can make every
desire come true
yet this garden can take us
away from you!
this garden goes where the gardener goes
this garden knows what the gardener knows
this garden grows what the gardener knows
●●●
sun days
moon days
dew days
wet days
thirst days
free days
and sad days
nameless days
timeless days
wondrous days
seasonless days
spinter days
ausum days
tumner days
wring days
every day
a giveaway
every day
a fun day
even
sad days
moon days
and wet days
every day
a sea day
a shore day
a cloud day
a rain day
every day
a song day
especially
sun days
dew days
thirst days
and free days
●●●
what century have i stumbled on
what dream is this i have come upon
somali pirates in the sea
pirates who can barely pee
straight in the ocean breeze
holding up our supply of oil
as they try to create
their own oily paradise
what century have i stumbled on
what dream is this i have come upon
an ancient city full of light
like chocolate, hidden in a
kernel
gift-wrapped so well in knots
it has no way of being opened
not accessible even to the
wise
desperate for its paradise
what century have i stumbled on
what dream is this i have come upon
war and terror, cholera and HIV
all things we seem to get for
free
and slums, poverty, chaos,
crime
leaderless promises, all sub-prime
xenophobia, and breaking lies
what price this new paradise
what century have i stumbled on
what dream is this i have come upon
●●●
an upstart in paradise
my luggage is spilled
before my eyes
what’s this you ask?
poetry books!
who published these?
self-published, sir, i said
please, could you read
the lyrics at least
they may show
i did not mean
to offend anyone
songs, music, are you mad?
no sir, just trying not to be
sad
some, really, are not too bad
well, i have no time to read!
there is a whole crowd arriving
from every corner of your land
and i need to be there
when their bags are scanned
to stop their endless contraband
tell me, quickly, what ailed
you
so much that you needed to
rehash rumi’s poetry
i looked for shams
like he did, sir, i said
but could not find him
so wanting to be near you
i thought it might help
if i re-invented a line or
two
i remember writing once
that ultimately all
lies are true
when they stem from
love for you
o go away, make yourself at
home
and leave those poetry books
behind
i may need them before this
day is over
●●●
before i leave this place of
bliss
i think it prudent to express
my discomfort at some
of my earlier excess
though nothing i said
was meant to be taken seriously
at my age i find
i fluff my lines
all too easily
all the time
so with an apology
my lightness ends
i need to start afresh
make amends
but what sadness too
to begin anew
when here i am, a fool
granted entry into paradise
about to start again
to look for signs of a friend
back on earth where
the only garmin i can find
are his words
echoing in my mind
and vague memories
of some books
like lost luggage
left behind
●●●
perhaps i needed to be back
not so that i could return
later
to some higher paradise
but so that i could find
in my heart
all the joy
all the beauty
that the highest one possesses
know once more, yet now know
for the first time, what it
means
to be light
to travel lightly
to let go all the falseness
weighing me down
why i was even allowed
to be so near to love
i shall never know
perhaps he knew i would not
stay
perhaps he knew i would not
stay
in his paradise
but that i would take him with
me
everywhere – in my heart
but not being worthy of his
love
and not even of not being his
love
i do not know – will not say
i know
where now i am or where i am
to go
when love burns, we call it sun
when love cools, we call it moon
when love forms, we call it cloud
when love falls, we call it rain
when love blossoms, we call
it flower
when love is rooted, we call
it tree
when love is unending, we
call it sky
when love explodes, we call
it star
when love burns, we call it sun
when love cools, we call it moon
when love beguiles, we call
it rose
when love cries, we call it thorn
when love is pure, we call it
mirror
when love returns, we call it
home
when love is unseen, we call
it essence
when love is luminous, we
call it soul
when love burns, we call it sun
when love cools, we call it moon
when love is ecstatic, we
call it heart
when love is detached, we
call it mind
when love enthralls, we call
it togetherness
when love contests, we call
it otherness
when love withdraws, we call
it absence
when love surfaces, we call
it presence
when love burns, we call it sun
when love cools, we call it moon
when love heals, we call it mercy
when love reveals, we call it
grace
when love supports, we call
it compassion
when love bewilders, we call
it mystery
when love guides, we call it law
when love admonishes, we call
it justice
when love burns, we call it sun
when love cools, we call it moon
when love liberates, we call
it knowledge
when love fulfils, we call it
freedom
when love hides, we call it veil
when love finds, we call it vision
when love provides, we call
it duty
when love remains, we call it
friend
when love burns, we call it sun
when love cools, we call it moon
when love inspires, we call
it hope
when love knows love, we call
it peace
when love is pleasure, we
call it friendship
when love is treasure, we
call it respect
when love strives, we call it
generosity
when love revives, we call it
gratitude
when love burns, we call it sun
when love cools, we call it moon
when love is guileless, we
call it humility
when love sacrifices, we call
it altruism
when love abides, we call it happiness
when love resides, we call it
wisdom
when love elevates, we call
it beauty
when love witnesses, we call
it truth
when love burns, we call it sun
when love cools, we call it moon
●●●
musical instruments
all ablaze
piccolos, oboes
flutes, and neys
cymbals, pan pipes
clarinets, albokas
drums, tubas
saxaphones, guitars
whistles, organs
trombones, lutes
pianos, sitars
violins, flutes
lyres, ukuleles
santoors, recorders
harps, hurdy gurdies
gongs and synthesizers!
but nature’s symphony too
never ceases to amaze
rustling leaves
birds, waterways
stars catching
their breath at night
eggs rupturing
hatching in delight
rain driving
the earth to tears
volcanoes revealing
their hidden fears
other voices as soft
as darkness or as bright
as an exploding crescendo
of light upon light!
●●●
river flowing, light fading
day escaping, pain surfacing
river flowing, light fading
bombs falling, fires burning
river glowing, light falling
cries rising, blood flowing
river glowing, light falling
cries receding, silence
growing
river darkening, light faltering
hope fading, clouds gathering
river darkening, light faltering
land smouldering, sky
bristling
river raging, light failing
streams spawning, anger
rising
river raging, light failing
river overflowing, rage spilling
river flowing, light fading
river glowing, light falling
river darkening, light faltering
river raging, light failing
river flowing, flowing,
flowing
light fading, fading, fading
●●●
i give you the earth as a jewel
you undermine it, and call it renewal
i give you a heart as the key
to the mystery of my being
i give you seas to soften
the hardness in your eyes
i give you orchards of grace
i decorate your faces with
smiles
i order rain to fall from the
sky
i scatter my beauty
everywhere
i give you the earth as a jewel
you undermine it, and call it renewal
your spirit i created
with the fragrance of my mercy
my light i gentled
so that it would stay with
you
whenever you cry
i hold you close
when you cannot walk
i help you to fly
i give you the earth as a jewel
you undermine it, and call it renewal
i make love blossom
through vulnerability
i sustain justice
through flexibility
every veil i create
conceals a paradise
but in the earth of yourself
is the ultimate prize
i give you the earth as a jewel
you undermine it, and call it renewal
●●●
after this love nothing is the same
everywhere i hear your name
i and me are your names
you and we are
your names
a cool stream, is your name
a rustling leaf, another name
after this love nothing is the same
everywhere i hear your name
absence and presence, names
here and there, scattered
names
now and then, forgotten names
why and where, seeking names
after this love nothing is the same
everywhere i hear your name
your name is breath, spirit,
life
your name is sound, colour,
light
your name makes the stillness
dance
your name is a quivering
lance
after this love nothing is the same
everywhere i hear your name
your name is gain and loss
your name is key and chain
your name is snow in the sun
when it melts, all light is
one
after this love nothing is the same
everywhere i hear your name
●●●
when love seeks, it becomes a lover
when love finds, it becomes the beloved
when love seeks, it becomes
an illness
when love finds, it becomes a
cure
when love seeks, it becomes a
door
when love finds, it becomes a
key
when love seeks, it becomes a
book
when love finds, it becomes
meaning
when love seeks, it becomes a lover
when love finds, it becomes the beloved
when love seeks, it becomes
beauty
when love finds, it becomes
truth
when love seeks, it becomes a
messenger
when love finds, it becomes
the message
when love seeks, it becomes a
sea
when love finds, it becomes a
ship
when love seeks, it becomes a lover
when love finds, it becomes the beloved
when love seeks, it becomes a
seed
when love finds, it becomes
fruit
when love seeks, it becomes a
branch
when love finds, it becomes
shade
when love seeks, it becomes
thirst
when love finds, it becomes a
drink
when love seeks, it becomes a lover
when love finds, it becomes the beloved
when love seeks, it becomes
earth
when love finds, it becomes
the sky
when love seeks, it becomes a
cloud
when love finds, it becomes
rain
when love seeks, it becomes a
storm
when love finds, it becomes
calm
when love seeks, it becomes a lover
when love finds, it becomes the beloved
when love seeks, it becomes
movement
when love finds, it becomes
stillness
when love seeks, it becomes
speech
when love finds, it becomes
silence
when love seeks, it becomes
generosity
when love finds, it becomes
gratitude
when love seeks, it becomes a lover
when love finds, it becomes the beloved
when love seeks, it becomes
humility
when love finds, it becomes
grace
when love seeks, it becomes
absence
when love finds, it becomes
presence
when love seeks, it becomes
dark
when love finds, it becomes
light
when love seeks, it becomes a lover
when love finds, it becomes the beloved
●●●
do not venture into the
valley of love
looking for the perfect alone
to love
unless your heart is prepared
to face
the storms of mercy, the fire
of grace
a desert without any water
is safer for the unseasoned
traveller
than a valley where rivers
flow
as in some faraway paradise
for fire reddens and softens
steel
and fragility crystallizes
the spirit
there is no beauty beyond me
there is nothing i did not
create
in me you will find infinity
in me you will find love,
beauty, grace
do not chain me to
selfishness
be generous, and set me free
and i will fill you with such
light
that knowing you, you will
know me
do not venture into the
valley of love
looking for the perfect alone
to love
unless your heart is prepared
to face
the storms of mercy, the fire
of grace
●●●
what exists before love
is what exists after love
what rises above love
is what stays below love
what lies beyond love
is what lives within love
coal, before love
is fire, after love
heat, above love
is fire, below love
light, beyond love
is fire, within love
every sacrifice
helps us to find
a light within love
beyond grasping
a light beyond love
beyond wanting
what exists before love
is what exists after love
what rises above love
is what stays below love
what lies beyond love
is what lives within love
●●●
love is the mirror of the soul
love is source, journey, goal
if you seem absent
from the world
it is only because
your love is present
in the world
and you say to us
do with me what you want to
take from me what you want to
make of me what you want to
become of me what you want to
my love transforms
into a flowing river
because it is
a hidden lake
when it tires
of the journey
my love transforms
into a glistening sea
so become whatever
you want to, you say
whatever you become
it cannot be
other than what i am
or my love can be
love is the mirror of the soul
love is source, journey, goal
●●●
how can we become fire
without first being firewood
how can we untie the knot of the ego
without dissolving it in water
where can we find this water
except in the well of our hearts
how will we know it’s full
and not dry
except by dropping in joseph
who is this joseph, what will
he do
his tears could make our dreams
come true
his tailor has stitched his
clothes with light
whoever knows him has gained
insight
where can we find him, is he
not lost
surely a wandering dervish
has no home
all dervishes have their
homes near kings
in pharoah’s palace joseph
grows wings
ask pharoah’s wife
who cut her fingers at his
sight
had joseph imprisoned
till grace freed him at last
from every desire, envy, the
past
only his love for a loved one
remaining
so if we can find joseph we
can find corn
water, forgiveness, which can
soften a thorn
where there is joseph there
must be water
even if every well seems dry to
the eye
even if our hearts have known
a drought for years
there is no drought that can contest
a lover’s tears
how can we become fire
without first being firewood
how can we untie the knot of the ego
without dissolving it in water
●●●
what we invest is what we receive
perfection lies in what we perceive
how can we find it
unless we become blind
can perfect justice reside
inside an imperfect mind
to discover such justice
we need to look deeper
find in the heart justice’s keeper
find in the heart justice’s keeper
we can only be blind
to the flaws
we find in others
by becoming aware
of the flaws
within ourselves
invest in a blindness that allows us to see
invest in a blindness that allows us to see
who goes to a river looking
for water
carrying a bucket that is
already full
when there is disquiet
deep within us
seeking peace, we find
disquiet outside us
what we invest is what we receive
perfection lies in what we perceive
●●●
all night long
when i should have cried
i kept my tears quiet
all day long
when i should have played
outside, i remained inside
now that days and nights
have begun to melt into one
i know what needs to be done
allow a tear to form outside
allow a smile inside my heart
play like a playful child
tally up the books
i have not borrowed
i need to return to you
repay you for songs you sang
i should have listened to
more carefully
learn to speak as you do
with more than one voice
and with silence too
and even now, somewhat surer
somewhat richer, somewhat
poorer
remember that only your
embrace
can teach me who you are
and who i am, lessons
i tried to learn
all day long
all night long
for years and years
when i kept quiet
when you lived
in my heart, and i died
●●●
for a flame to be known
a candle has to exist
forgetting lines
we find indivisibility
within circles
we find fluidity
beyond full stops
we find continuity
for a flame to be known
a candle has to exist
forgetting darkness
we find sanctity
within knowledge
we find serenity
beyond loss
we find simplicity
for a flame to be known
a candle has to exist
forgetting roads
we find curiosity
within love
we find certainty
beyond fear
we find creativity
for a flame to be known
a candle has to exist
forgetting time
we find eternity
within a word
we find infinity
beyond opposites
we find integrity
●●●
got up this morning with a start
checked my pulse, felt my heart
quickly counted up to ten
slowed down when it dawned on me
i could be counting for eternity
pulled my hair, it wasn’t
there
without my spectacles
my eyes seemed obstacles
to seeing itself; so put them
on
and saw the dark was just as
dark
knew then it is some other
sight
that makes the world seem so bright
still i was tempted enough to
count
birthdays, books, burgeoning
lyrics
all the benchmarks of
visibility
what about invisibility, i asked
where is the young man who
should
be feeling the heat; why is
he not here
to explain what he has done
with my eyes
my ears, my face, my hands, my
feet
i have gone ahead, i heard
him say
to map out new roads, find a
new way
besides, it’s not my fault i
left
you were never a good host
always starving both of us
thin!
look at you now!
unable to walk freely.
hardly able to have any fun
had i known you would come to
this end
so soon, i would have run
away sooner!
that’s it, i said, i’ve had
enough, go
and don’t come back; i’d give
you up
again if i could, for one
moment of a love
that gets me up, every
morning, with a start
and reminds me the whole
world is my heart!
got up this morning with a start
checked my pulse, felt my heart
quickly counted up to ten
slowed down when it dawned on me
i could be counting for eternity
●●●
we have to be learned
to chart the way
but innocent
to navigate the way
fruit that swells with pride
comes ever closer to its end
lightness perfects the balance
between having and letting go
where the one seems the other
where the one is the other
the way, if found
through seeking
is lit through loving
lost through keeping
when we are beyond the way
we find the way within us
we have to be learned
to chart the way
but innocent
to navigate the way
when the proper balance
between being attentive
and inattentive makes us
weightless, we become
a bird in flight
a
fish in the sea
a farmer in a field
a cow being milked
a child asleep
a half moon
at home wherever we are
invisible, yet complete
we have to be learned
to chart the way
but innocent
to navigate the way
●●●
in your world
everything i see is love
everything i hear is love
whatever i think is love
yet, even in your world
i am more than a lover
more than the beloved
more than light or love
complete, perfect
i have no need at all
not even to love
i have no form
yet i form all forms
and i love what i form
because i am love or
because i am what i am
and you cannot be
less than you are
so do not search for me
outside who you are
just be, be love, or be light
and you will know that you
already are all you can be
in your world
●●●
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace in our lives
peace in the world
peace in our time
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace in our minds
peace in our hearts
peace in our souls
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace in the skies above us
peace in the lands around us
peace in the ground beneath
us
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace to guide us through the
day
peace to help us sleep at
night
peace to help us light our
way
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace we find in another’s eyes
peace we see in another’s
smile
peace we hear in another’s
speech
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace when the ego’s undone
peace that’s patient and
content
peace that makes us truly one
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace that comes from
self-belief
peace from overcoming grief
peace from refusing
greed
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace born from grace and
purity
peace raised with justice and
mercy
peace alive with love and
beauty
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace that lifts up the
clouds
peace that makes the hardened
sing
peace that blossoms in
everything
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace that never ends
peace that flows on and on
peace that’s not here and
gone
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace from knowing who we are
peace from being selfless,
caring, kind
peace from seeing by becoming
blind
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace from finding love
within us
peace from finding love
beyond us
peace from finding love
around us
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace from taking care of
nature
peace from eradicating
poverty
peace from overcoming
inequality
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace from living with
dignity
peace from children growing
up wise
peace from helping women rise
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace from steadfastness,
integrity
peace from knowing
unknowingly
peace from being, not seeking
to be
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
peace within before peace
outside
peace everywhere from being
free
peace that knows no
boundary
say ‘peace, peace is all we need’
●●●
there are times when
some understanding here
helps us to find love there
there are times when
overwhelmed by beauty
we become what we love
there are times
when silence reduces
everything to its core
when our oneness
makes us vulnerable
to mystery and awe
a tall building looks better
against other tall buildings
the pyramids look better
because their colour
helps them to become one
with their surroundings
a child is more of a child
when in the company
of other children
love breathes
new life into us by
taking our breath away
●●●
no me, no my, no i
no love – but love
no light – but light
no who, no what, no why
no me, no my, no i
no being – but being
no form – but form
no where, no when, no why
no me, no my, no i
no need – but grace
no far – but near
no how, no here, no now
no me, no my, no i
no outer – but inner
no sight – but seer
no you, no he, no she
no me, no my, no i
no love – but love
no light – but light
no who, no what, no why
no me, no my, no i
no loss – but gain
no self – but self
no where, no when, no why
no me, no my, no i
no absence – but presence
no fullness – but essence
no how, no here, no now
no me, no my, no i
no becoming – but uncovering
no overcoming – but
surrender
no you, no he, no she
no me, no my, no i
no love – but love
no light – but light
no who, no what, no why
●●●
it’s raining music in the
spheres
beyond the consciousness of
tears
beyond the clouds of earthly
fears
it’s raining music in the
spheres
the light dancing in a trance
oblivious of competing
truths
the orchestra of war and
peace
surrendering to the score of
truce
it’s raining music in the
spheres
beyond the consciousness of
tears
beyond the clouds of earthly
fears
it’s raining music in the
spheres
refugees from forgotten lands
walking in enchanted streets
recalling their wandering
untold treasures at their
feet
it’s raining music in the
spheres
beyond the consciousness of
tears
beyond the clouds of earthly
fears
it’s raining music in the
spheres
who will restore us, we ask
to health when we need care
can a tree remember every
leaf
it held, when winter leaves
it bare
in every unaccustomed drought
that hides lakes and lakes of
love
if we trudge up to a well, we
still
may find water that fills one
cup
enough to sustain us until we
see
lightning on the far horizon,
hear
a sound from beyond the hills
of thought, and know
it’s raining music in the
spheres
beyond the consciousness of
tears
beyond the clouds of earthly
fears
it’s raining music in the
spheres
●●●
everywhere where
cosmic mountains rise
from cosmic seas
and angels sweep
their shores with ease
there music forms
first, soft and slow
like a heartbeat
at once attempting
to remain and go
and then the deluge
of grace descends
and love storms
the last citadel
of silence
o strangled heart
can you calm
these waves of fire
before you collapse
under their desire
if you survive
in future be wide open
and do not try to retain
what you were meant
only to reveal
everywhere where
cosmic mountains rise
from cosmic seas
and angels sweep
their shores with ease
there music forms
first, soft and slow
like a heartbeat
at once attempting
to remain and go
and then the deluge
of grace descends
and love storms
the last citadel
of silence
●●●
i hold myself close to you
and find i hold eternity
hold and hold close to you
and find i hold infinity
but the thorn of ‘i’
keeps me awake
so at best, i know
i am only dreaming
still, i hold
close to you
hoping to find
what makes me true
breathing as one
letting go
breathing alone
holding on
till in a silence
as instructive as speech
i learn at last
the thorn is you!
no dream is fake
not of you
no love is lost
but what’s unspent
now when i am
close to you
i find you
closely holding me
abandoning treasures
only you could love
infinity
eternity
●●●
everywhere, the silence grows
from the earth to the sky it knows
no borders, distances, or foes
everywhere,
a silence lives
and
all that lives
lives
only
because
of the life it gives
everywhere,
a silence speaks
valleys
sing of mountain peaks
space,
of time
days,
of weeks
everywhere, the silence grows
from the earth to the sky it knows
no borders, distances, or foes
everywhere,
minds come alive
when
hearts silently revive;
our
sight, when
what we
are seeing, subsides
everywhere,
we come alive
when
the spirit thrives;
and a
pen comes alive
when
a page seems silent
everywhere, the silence grows
from the earth to the sky it knows
no borders, distances, or foes
everywhere
the silence goes
it
passes through revolving doors
never
leaving
hearts
it knows
everywhere,
a curve
becomes
a curve
because
a straight line
remains
silent
everywhere, the silence grows
from the earth to the sky it knows
no borders, distances, or foes
everywhere,
music calms our fears
for
in the hearts of sinners
living
silently
are
their unseen seers
everywhere,
silence gives
birth
to art, which comes alive
when
the walls that display it
hold
their breath in awe
everywhere, the silence grows
from the earth to the sky it knows
no borders, distances, or foes
everywhere,
silence cries
on
seeing itself
through
our eyes
silenced
by unloving lies
everywhere,
silence laughs
when
we try
to
silence it with songs
we only
hear because it lives
everywhere, the silence grows
from the earth to the sky it knows
no borders, distances, or foes
●●●
a safe terrain is not for
those
whose love, like yours
forever pours
in a torrential rain
that sweeps away all living
things
parenting from the grief it
brings
a child in whose heart
winter hides a deeper spring
a spring already blossoming
in another world, where love
is joined with love – through
loss
and love alone is everything
a safe terrain is not for
those
who tend to lose their way
when all is certain, all is
sure
and every direction too
secure
in storms too some find
ways of knowing, ways of
being
the path – or the door to
mystery
where the seasons are petals
of a closed bud
becoming colour, becoming
light
becoming song, music,
spring
and falling rain – a wondrous
thing
a safe terrain is not for
those
whose love, like yours
forever pours
in a torrential rain
●●●
somewhere where
there is neither
light nor dark
but the possibility
of our seeing you
without robbing you
of your sight
somewhere
in this sacred space
not yet become holy
to us, not yet become
a land we can destroy
with a blindness
born of your light
somewhere so far
and yet so near
that we can even
reach it in our sleep
when in our waking
itself, is the seed
of our loneliness
somewhere
in this paradise
that excludes us
so that we may not
remain in need of
other than you,
we cling
somehow
we know not how!
to a love whose wings
are so fragile that they
could hardly keep the air
afloat, yet make light
of carrying us to you
everywhere where
there is neither
light nor dark
but the possibility
of our seeing you
without robbing you
of your sight