“It’s like the Sun heating up all space

And the people, the planets, orbiting with haste

It’s like the sky on a darkened night

And the pilgrim stars shining around it so bright

It’s like a magnet that our Lord has fixed

And humanity crowds and encircles it

It’s like the heart beating silently

And the blood flows around it eternally

It’s like mighty Saturn, darkened, flattened into a cube

And the ring of pilgrims beautify the view.

It’s the House of God, and He loves His guests,

And He answers all who make sincere requests”

from The Orphan’s Song for the Kaaba
– Novid Shaid
in A KALEIDOSCOPE OF STORIES
Muslim Voices in Contemporary Poetry
Coming soon from Lote Tree Press