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mazHur
10-07-2007, 04:20 AM
Hi all
I am pleased to submit my first poem on this forum and would appreciate receiving your comments.
regards
Mazhar Butt

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The Prophet and I
By Mazhar Butt

Joseph's was a different story
Mine is something else;
He had a compassionate father,Jacob,
Who wept and wept and lost his sight
At the news of his missing son;
Had I been so lucky and important
This story wouldn't been aired!
Nor would I try to compare
The story and its characters.
Joseph was a lucky guy, lucky was he;
Jacob was lucky too
Joseph had many jealous brothers
I too have many grudgingly malicious siblings
But, here is the difference !
Joseph's siblings were his step brothers
Mine are real !
Joseph's brothers ganged up against him
Mine also did the same
Out of jealousy , jealousy, jealousy !
They dumped Joseph into a blind well
No fun, my brothers also did the same!
Joseph's brother returned with his blood stained clothes
With the bad news to their father , Jacob,
That Joseph had been devoured by wolves!
Jacob got mad at the news
Aggrieved and hurt as if his heart had been ripped off
He commanded his jealous sons to go and find
Joseph and bring him back;
Incredible, said Jacob, the sanguine smell of Joseph's shirt
Tells me he's alive and in trouble'
Go, go, you careless lot and get him back safely!
The story, as it goes, sounds differently in my case
So different that had Jacob and Joseph been alive
They would have unlisted their story from the pages of history!
Similarly, my siblings brought the bad news to our father
As well as mother, if I may regretfully add her off issue;
Unlike Jacob, my respected father smiled at the news
and my dear mother too!
Ah, what a pity! What a shame! Sorry to say;
Joseph's parents weren't like that !
This is why I called both Jacob and Joseph lucky
May God Almighty raise their departed souls
To the highest levels of eternal bliss in heaven!
Perchance a caravan happened to pass by
To look for water in the blind well
Water was not there nor could it be in a blind well
But instead they sighted Joseph there
And got him out and took him along with them;
They auctioned Joseph in the Bazaar of Kinaan
As an unfortunate slave
Until bought by the Amir to serve in his palace;
Till this point Joseph's and my story sounds almost similar
But not the same as we don't have Amirs
And no slaves are auctioned in present times;
Instead, I was left to the dogs
To be maimed, crippled and get finally killed;
But I was saved by the mercy of my God
Saved and surviving
Alive and kicking !
Unlike Joseph's father
None missed me nor my father shed a single tear
For the unbefitting treatment his favorite sons meted out to me;
Never mind. I never expected him to weep
And get blinded at my separation and fate;
Joseph was ultimately riden of his calamities
He had to, because he was most handsome
And a prophet as well
An apple of Zulekha's eyes !
Joseph could interpret dreams
Whereas I only dreamt
By stroke of fate an his especial position with Lord
He regained his lost stature and became
The King of an Empire
And forgave his inimical brothers
for their evil deeds
Out of brotherly affection for them
Or, perhaps, as a show of respect to his loving father
'All ended well with Joseph
All ended well for Jacob
But not for me !
Not for me because I am not an interpretor
Of dreams nor a prophet of God
Nor a son of a loving father or mother;
A star-crossed father-son relation,
A lucky survivor yet not so lucky
As a prophet like Joseph was ;
My travails continue endlessly
I have no Zulekha to love me;
I remain to be a dreamer;
For it was this I was ordained to do;
Yet it is clear from the story
The fate of prophets
Is better than ordinary men;
They finally win emancipation;
People like me don't !
All praise be to the Almighty God !
Amen !
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Pendragon
10-07-2007, 10:41 AM
First allow me to say "Welocme, Mazhar! Peace be unto you." I don't know if I really have grasped the full significance of your poem, so I don't to make content comment. You may wish to limit use of the exclamation mark, poetry gets by with as little punctuation as we can. It tightens the lines. Avoid repeating the same word overmuch, find synonyms for the word. Otherwise, always read the poem out loud to check on word flow. The poem should flow naturally, not sound stilted or forced.

Good luck!

Pen

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l108/AbsalomKane/Smilies/PuppyLove.gif

mazHur
10-07-2007, 12:27 PM
Hi Pen
i sincerely appreciate and thank you for your welcome and comments.
I take your point on less use of exclamation marks, punctuation and synonyms, etc and will try to improve on in future.

Thanks again for your valued comments

best
MazHur





First allow me to say "Welocme, Mazhar! Peace be unto you." I don't know if I really have grasped the full significance of your poem, so I don't to make content comment. You may wish to limit use of the exclamation mark, poetry gets by with as little punctuation as we can. It tightens the lines. Avoid repeating the same word overmuch, find synonyms for the word. Otherwise, always read the poem out loud to check on word flow. The poem should flow naturally, not sound stilted or forced.

Good luck!

Pen

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l108/AbsalomKane/Smilies/PuppyLove.gif

mazHur
10-07-2007, 12:32 PM
God is Love
by Mazhar Butt

I do not like to Meet my Foes
Good for Them good for Me
Nor do I like to Meet a Friend
Meeting whom makes Heart Heavy

I like the solemn night never to End
I want the blazing Dawn never to appear
Dark of Night I hold discourse with my Beloved
The Eternal Light I feel so Near so Dear!

Ah, This World is not an ideal Place
For the Soul of Men to Rest and Rejoice!
All the Seven Heavens will it roam
Without a Word, Without a Voice

Higher than the wandering Clouds
Further away form the Cosmic line
To Sneak a Glimpse of its Beloved
To Bow its Head in His gracious Shrine

Soul leaves the Cage of Bodily form
Returns to the Centre of its Source
Transmutes into the Greater Soul
The Soul of Love, the Ultimate Course

God is Love, and Love is God
What remains is Dust and Debris
God is Unique , One and All
The Beginning and the Eternity.

ampoule
10-08-2007, 03:36 AM
mazHur, I enjoyed both of your poems. What an interesting, though sad, comparison in The Prophet and I. I love exercises of putting oneself into biblical stories. In God is Love, the line "what remains is Dust and Debris" really hit me. One hears about dust to dust all the time but your addition of Debris is so powerful...the things we leave in the wake of our lives.

mazHur
10-08-2007, 03:52 AM
Hi ampoule

I am glad you liked my poems. Thanks a lot for your appreciation and comments.
Today, I posted another poem 'the snake' and wonder if you read it

Now, I am on reading your poetry and feel its warmth

keep in touch and take care
best
MazHur