‘A Nightingale in Yearning’: Poem By Sujjawal Ahmad

For the Companionship on High, a nightingale in yearning,

Sings upon Eternal Tree the melody of longing;

That breathes in wailing hearts sweetness of hope,

Shatters in night darkness of the gloom

And path to Light begins to shine and ope.

Listen to that birdsong with heart to ground

That fills earth, air and sky with melodious sound;

And reminds of a wayfarer who walked the entire world around.

Whose life one would want to read more and more

Not like the ones in the books of kings of yore!

The light that Nasir sought, the way did he go

From Balkh in search of the Tree and the Hand of God

But found no answers neither from a friend nor a foe!

In the land of Persia, and in the city of Allepo,

Walked through the Holy cities, and he then reached Cairo.

With all chaos in mind he cried , O Lord!

I ran all my life in search of worldly things

And to the murmurs of soul, I paid no heed.

Now I need peace in heart and mind

Where is that Ridwan, the Daystar of Time,

In whose yearning I have walked a thousand miles?

O brother! He then heard a wise man responding:

You have found The Hand, the Tree Sublime

From the House of Mustafa, the Garden of Haider,

One who is the Guardian of the pool of Kawther;

In whose garden are mindful fruits of the Reason,

Whose light illuminates those in darkness of intellectual treason.

Know that Heavens have now your difficulty turned easy,

You don’t need now to stay in that misery.

With knowledge true peace will blossom in your soul

The night is over, you are at the break of dawn;

For now you know the Greatest Name, the Imam of Time!