Forever may you live and fly free, in the Soul of our Souls.                      

Poet Ahmed Miqdad from Gaza city of Palestine has shared his poems

Poet Ahmed Miqdad is from Gaza city of Palestine. He is teacher and a poet and has published three poetic books and a short novel. His goal is to make the people around the world aware of Palestinian cause through his words.

The Soul of my Soul

Soul of my soul

She is gone from me.

Like a butterfly in the afternoon sun

She flew away.

I watched as she flew fast to the far-off sky

 I could not reach.

As bright and brilliant as Heaven’s star she flew

In the middle of the clear blue sky

Suddenly made dark in the siren noise

The Soul of my Soul

She soared in the sudden clouds

Plumes of dust and ash

The fires of hate that thirst for our death.

Into those clouds, she flew.

She was an innocent child

 A flower flourishing through dry concrete.

Her grandfather’s tears fall

Like an endless stream through the graveyard rubble stained with blood.

 The Soul of my Soul.

Where are you now, sweetheart?

Let’s fly a kite over these walls, the mountains of plight

 The death cage of our life.

Oh to release the heartache

That has left us to rot under the weight of our despair

To linger in the heavy fragments of timeless sorrow

Will you come to this old man?

Will you hold me in your soft warmth?

Will you carry me upon your butterfly wings?

So fragile

So delicate

Will you free me through your grandfather’s love?

One more hug

To know you are not gone from me.

 The Soul of my Soul

She is gone from me now.

I see her eyes look back at me.

Cold.

But like a butterfly in the afternoon sun

She flew away.

Wait for me at the doors of heaven

For I will surely follow you there.

When we meet again the world will know our love

Unlimited, everlasting

Love that transcends the terror

The doom-filled shroud of war clouds.

The Soul of my Soul

Will you, like the many thousands who have died,

Will you know that you are loved?

Alhamdulillah

In our hope that all butterflies live beyond the veil of life

Eternal life

Divine love that is told in every Holy Scripture.

The Soul of my Soul

You were.

You are.

You forever will be.

Fly my butterfly angel – my granddaughter

Forever

At peace

In the tender age of three.

 The Soul of my Soul

You are free now.

No more will the cage of death keep you.

Fly on

Into the wings of the others who are there

While we remain lost to die in the dust of silence

And fierce fiery ash.

The Soul of my Soul

Speak to this world with your sweet spirit song

Fill it with your baby’s cooing

Pleading for love

Crying for peace.

Then help us to seek for justice

That now, only heaven can know.

Forever live and fly free

Sweet girl.

Forever may you live and fly free

In the Soul of our Souls.

[Edited by Elizabeth Green]                                                   

*** 

Hymns of Peace

Hymns of peace,

Gently spreading over the holy land,  

Softly now, hear the mosque,

Calling the azha,

As a hymn of peace.

Marvel, church bells a-ringing,

Around the old city,

Rejoice in prayer

As a hymn of peace.

Behold, children flying kites,

Yonder over the mountains of north

Playfully yearning for freedom,

As a hymn of peace.

Olive trees cultivated by devoted farmers,

In their fields of green,

Giving hope to the coming generations,

As a hymn of peace.

Witness, freedom fighters raising the Palestinian flag,

Near the stolen bloodied borders,

Valiant in their sacrifice,

As a hymn of peace.

Listen, the sparrows joyfully chirp,

Singing over the flowering branches,

Tweaking their cheery melodies,

As a hymn of peace.

Let us draw together in fortitude,

Sing a song of freedom for Palestine,

Spreading love and peace,

As a hymn of peace.

________________  

Published under International Cooperation with "Sindh Courier"