There’s a place I go
far away from the world.
A sacred space
none can penetrate,
where I’m warmly cocooned;
the most honourable part of me
lowered in submission
to the most humbled position:
prostration to my Lord.
And in this safe space,
I pour out my heart:
all my fears and worries;
the anxieties that gnaw at my mind.
My hopes and ambitions;
all I want to offer to this world.
The dreams I can fulfil
only with His help.
It’s where I confess
my shortcomings
and repeated failures,
promises made and broken,
efforts cut short by selfishness,
and laziness
I allowed to swallow me whole.
And I admit my weakness.
My utter inability
to lift even a finger,
except with His Will.
And I beg for His guidance and intervention;
the strength to climb
these mountains in my mind.
For nothing is easy
except what He makes easy.
And if He wills,
He can make the difficulty easy.
And in this most private union,
I zoom forward,
beyond this life,
beyond death,
beyond Judgement.
And I imagine my Real Home
in Paradise:
a realm everlasting,
with no troubles to stalk my soul.
No fears to cage my spirit.
No burdens to weigh me down.
Where Peace prevails
both inside and out;
sakeenah for the soul –
the permanent station of the bliss
which visits only on rare occasions down here;
fleeting slivers
meant only as samples
of the Ultimate Success.
And when I’ve exhausted myself
within this exchange,
I rise once more:
still powerless, yet empowered and unburdened,
knowing that
the One Who holds my soul
holds all else in His grasp,
and with Him on my side,
I can make it through anything.
There’s a place I go
to find comfort and assurance,
and strength to go on
when Life gets too heavy.
Entry is free
and it’s always close by.
The cocoon of sujood –
prostration to the Most High.
Image by By Maaria Lohiya.
slip-sliding away..... 