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Paradise – Alan ‘Abd al-Haqq Godlas

“Never again
will I open my heart
to such suffering,”
you said.

And so, you
resigned yourself,
you settled,
you contented yourself
with a shack
in the middle of the desert
of your life.

No running water of love,
only a few drops
here and there,
enough to get by;
but at least
the gaping wounds
were shut!

So many days went by,
so many years!

But now, your hovel,
scheduled for bulldozing,
perhaps today,
perhaps next month,
next year.

Do you remember
the nightingale?
Can you still hear its song?”

from Paradise
– Alan ‘Abd al-Haqq Godlas
in A KALEIDOSCOPE OF STORIES
Muslim Voices in Contemporary Poetry
Coming soon from Lote Tree Press

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