This Is All I Know
By: Jehangir Saleh
Written: February 14, 2002
I will reveal myself
To the bare moon
And make my salt
Where the land embraces
The sea
I will sleep
Aside the holy books
Their covers torn –
Pressed as one,
Reveal a single revelation
I will weep rosewater
And sip my tears
I will curdle myself
In hope
And hope
In this moment
I am a single
Drop of fluid
Gently tortured
By the sea
The Journey
By Jehangir Saleh
Written: January 17, 2002
I am following the right path
To my sovereign Lord
In the warm shadows beneath the high trees
In the comfort of the sweet air
Above, the green leaves drip down
Sunshine
I am blessed
And begin my journey
Length and dark will
Test my devotion
And bounds will break
With the love of my Lord
I must not stray
For on this path
I take my Mirage1
Accompanied by sparrows
And chipmunks
The trees bow
And the robins sing
The praise
Of their creator
Each step is new
Fulfilling
Closer to harmony
Pausing, resting
Feeling the earth tug
At my soul
Letting the breeze
Whisper in my ear
I continue my path
Collecting the delicate drops of sunshine
Guided by the flowing breeze
Whose breath
Is whispering praises
[1] The journey Prophet Mohammed took through the seven heavens to meet with Allah.
Oh devote one
You pace with hunger
For you Lord
Your devotion
Will usher you in the
Blessed abode
I know
Of your longing,
Intoxicated with
Love
As the wind inhales
The sun begins to hide
Your path seems infinite
Each step will become
Oppressive
Dark nights
Reveal plagues
And demons
Who will not rest
Aside you
To the West
May you also
Find your Lord
With ease —
A burden- less path
Where dark remains friends
With Day
Sun is straining
Through the top leaves
Sparrows in still
Facing the right path
As I ponder the West
The path parts
And away from
Mecca2 I turn
Night floods the forest
Along with dense darkness
That knows not of
Its true companion, Day
[2] Muslims pray toward Mecca; they pray toward the East.
Each dawn
Light must push through
The tree tops
Dusting off on
Owls and ravens
Who raped the
Last sparrow journeying
The West path
Light shortens as
The dark grows
I travel through
Their violent divorce —
Dark must be beating Day
Three more revolutions
Of the world
Dries me out
Dehydration consumes
My canteen
The wind seems
Arid, hungry
My thirst pokes
Like a thistle
As the path turns
To a poisoned pond
I pause
And ponder
Feeling swirls
Of building temptation
The wind hums
Praise and prayers
And the swirling
Subsides
As I attempt
Ignorance
My thirst begs
The path narrows
To a deeper part of the forest
All shadows begin to cool
The sunrays are forbidden
By the leaves that grow cover
I am below the blessed
Where
Dark has defeated light
In piercing circles, swarms the wind
Whispers now become screams
Rattling my ears
Owls and ravens watch
Perched on branches
Of trees
Whose leaves have been desolated
In sacrifice
The path and I weaken
No further can I travel
I pause for an unsettled rest
Shielded by jagged
Knives of rock
Is a blue stream of
Flowing beauty
Her Liquids are poisonous
But for the deserts
I thirst
And so I drink.
I peer at myself
Rippled in the waves
That imitate
Flaunting my anguish
Back at me
I continue
Poisoned
A budding insanity
Lingers
Cured only by
The hand of
My lord
I begin to beg
Of the wind
To whisper me
The virgin distance
Of my journey
So I may hope
Once again
In silence
I receive my answer
Now
I am bothered not
By the owls and ravens
That perch upon
The crosses
Of rough tree bark —
In blindness
My dark is thicker
Than night
The wind begins
To blow
And I get up
To follow
Knowing
That I will forever
Step away from my lord
Only to fall on
The Day of Judgement3
[3] The Day when mankind meets their creator. Depending upon Islamic sect, The Day of Judgement can be individual or one where mankind as a whole is called upon by Allah.
The Great Hater
By: Jehangir Saleh
Written: September 9, 2001
…These I have hated
Children who are overly spoiled
The rusting kettle in my basement that refuses to boil
Those times when I don’t get the highest test score
And when it’s achieved by the knob on a door
The horrid aroma of Irish Crème
The waking up and realization that the girl was just a dream
My brother and sister who need no explanation
Feeling I have to live up to everyone’s expectation
Evil rubber bands that always snap
No one ever remembers to put on the toothpaste cap
Cigarette smoke filled rooms that make me sneeze
The annoying buzz of a swarm of bees
Rap; which rhymes with crap
And the process of trying to refold a road map
My thoughts are influenced by negativity
Through loathing eyes I see the world around me
Jehangir Saleh
Loneliness
By Jehangir Saleh
Written: January 4, 2001
Listen, carefully
To the sound of emptiness
That screams through the walls
And yells from within
Complete silence
Of deafening volume
Ask me what is feels like to be lonely
The novels I will reply
If tranquility holds my peace of mind
Loneliness holds my insanity
Jehangir Saleh
Dreams
By Jehangir Saleh
Written: September 4, 2000
In the openness of my mind there exist many dreams
Their eternal drama is released out through me
Burning holes in my brain the illusions slip through
They will torment my mind until they reach you
In the waves of uncertainty a young child drowns
Her fragile body is never to be found
For she was conceived inside my dreams
Where terror exceeds the limit of sanity
So be forewarned before you befriend me
I carry the manifestation of insanity
Obscured visions I have in the night
Are released in my actions upon daylight
This is really not what is seems
I am the terror who occurs in my dreams
A Woman Standing In The Rain
By Jehangir Saleh
Written: May 27, 2000
I look outside my window
I see a woman standing in the rain
She just waits there
Singing to herself
Like she knows something I don’t
And I look closer
I catch her eyes
She has mine
A smile dawns on her face
I look away, frightened
Sometimes the best friends
Are the ones you see
For the smallest amount of time
But they will always be
The ones who will,
Mean the most
Jehangir Saleh
The Million-Mile Road
By: Jehangir Saleh
Written: September 25, 1999
Soon to be soft, so tender, so sweet
Over the path I lure myself,
Only to cast away from love
This is on the million-mile road
Never understand what I really want,
Soft lips whisper ideas to me,
Whether they’re yours or the one’s in my head
They speak about the million-mile road
Mathematical problems I can never understand,
All the numbers relate to you,
Pages and pages of undone work,
Are completed on the million-mile road
Come closer as dawn peeks,
Life with you is a game of hide and seek,
Maiden visions from afar,
It all comes together on the million-mile road