The Ghazal Page
Clouds and Rain Special Issue 1
- Noah: an Oratorio, David Jalajel
- "tears", C W Hawes
- "melancholy", C W Hawes
- The Famous One, R. W. Watkins
- Clouds and Rain, Sukhdarshan Dhaliwal
- "monsoon", Ahmed Masud
- "manna", Joel Neubauer
- Clouds and rain, Esther Greenleaf Mürer
Noah – an Oratorio
David Jalajel
Chorus of angels:
“Fear God´s presence, clouds and rain,His ever-present clouds and rain.”
Chorus of men:
“Full moon harvest, gibbous grain,Summon crescent, clouds, and rain.”
Noah:
“How they call false gods in vain,Their prayers mere pagents of clouds and rain.”
Chorus of men:
“This stone altar blood must stain.Burn the peasants. Clouds and rain.”
Noah:
“Hear my warning, son, againOf unrepentant clouds and rain.”
Chorus of men:
“To our gods our voices strain:Hear us, sentient clouds and rain!”
Noah´s son:
“Shall I fear a weathervane,Evanescent clouds and rain?”
Chorus of men (a):“Erupting from stones! Engulfing the plain!What effervescent clouds and rain!” |
Chorus of men (b):“Up from the stones! Up from the plain!What effervescent clouds and rain!” |
Noah:
“Ship´s timbers stretch. The beasts complain:O omnipresent clouds and rain!”
Chorus of angels:
“Forty nights will rise and waneThrough fierce, incessant clouds and rain.”
Noah:
“Seek the coastline. Hark! The main –Incandescent clouds and rain.”
Noah & angels:
“The beauty of the Earth´s regained:Deer and pheasant, clouds and rain.”
"tears"
C W Hawes
My tears are hid behind these clouds and rain;
there is nothing that can appease clouds and rain.
For so long I have sought a glimpse of the sun,
but all I have is that twin tease: clouds and rain.
The potholed road drags itself forever on;
at the wayside rest, fallen leaves, clouds, and rain.
Too dreary this day on which the Christ must die;
try as I might I cannot seize clouds and rain.
Says Suleiman: love, like sand, slips through the fingers
and masking those divine decrees, clouds and rain.
"melancholy"
C W Hawes
There is a melancholy to clouds and rain;
one feels a longing of soul through clouds and rain.
This cup of black tea grows increasingly cold;
helpless against the chill, I rue clouds and rain.
The fire crackles and pops its cozy warmth,
but here we sit and stew over clouds and rain.
Alluring is the look of the dark-eyed one,
but the only two will be those two: clouds and rain.
Waiting at the dock for my ship to come in;
a typhoon blowing. So what's new? Clouds and rain.
Ya Allah! This weather's incorrigible.
To the desert, yet what's the view? Clouds and rain.
O Suleiman pause awhile to learn the lesson:
all things have their time. Don't eschew clouds and rain.
The Famous One: Ghazal for Michele Gallagher (1964 – 2000)
R. W. Watkins
The show opens with an upbeat tune, repealing clouds and rain.
A young actress puts her best side out, concealing clouds and rain.
From Ms. Blyton's books come offbeat films, accounts of spies und thieves.
Above Irish bombs and punk-rock slums: unfeeling clouds and rain.
The four Kirrins find a secret shaft, a passage to the sea.
Michele's tunnels wind through real-life depths, revealing clouds and rain.
The mutt Timmy rescues tomboy George — a smuggler's plot is foiled!
A 'high' prison snares the teenaged mum, its ceiling: clouds and rain.
A black filter blocks out sunshine's rays, the children fade to night.
The cold gravel grips the casket whole, congealing clouds and rain.
Clouds and Rain
Sukhdarshan Dhaliwal
In a majestic valley as I touch the silky clouds and rain
My soul feels the charms of the lovely clouds and rain
In the solitude of the twilight skies, set your spirit free
As in the sky freely roam the heavenly clouds and rain
Suddenly as I felt the divine mist in the desert I knew
The cry of the desert heard by the misty clouds and rain
It is an aromatic vintage fragrance that pervades the air
That is drawn to its soul by the lively clouds and rain
As the amorous moonlight embraces the ocean waves
The waves in elation attract the thirsty clouds and rain
It is a trace of virtuous times ahead whenever you see
Emerging from the deserts, the foggy clouds and rain
Darshan, you will also be delighted after the bad times
As the day becomes crystal after the gusty clouds and rain
"monsoon"
Ahmed Masud
Monsoons come – the gift of clouds and rain
Thunders drum – the shift of clouds and rain
Somewhere along the roses of her cheeks
Dew drops plumb the lift of clouds and rain
Though walls of confessionals have ears to spare,
The priest is dumb to the shrift of clouds and rain
It is nature's design that we have grown apart,
Love has become the rift of clouds and rain
Ahmed follows along, with nowhere to go,
Feet succumb to the drift of clouds and rain
"manna"
Joel Neubauer
Some words are joined too easily and need no definite article: cloud and rain.
As bareback weather saddles not its steed, no definite article: cloud and rain.
He fully loved the man he loved; and he'd no heteronormative closet fear.
He cried with no agenda, loved and freed, no definite article, cloud and rain.
My boots were laced; I wore my coat – my tweed coat; hurricanes raged around my head.
Between my head and heaven was my creed – no definite article: cloud and rain.
My God, my God – how often do I plead for heavenly manna to fill my gut?
The heaven skies are full; and yet they feed no definite article cloud and rain.
Let's laugh together, Love (indeed, we hadn't been giddy for far too long).
I nebulous, you dripping wet: and we'd no definite article – cloud and rain.
That any seed escapes the squirrelly autumn's bold hunger's a miracle.
And who deserves the credit for the weed? – no definite article: cloud and rain.
On picnic tables, raincloud waters bead – and park-benches claim it for diamond studs.
"Indefinite our blessings fall; we bleed no definite article," Cloud and Rain.
She fully loved the man she loved; and she'd no heterosexual claim to prove.
Her cry: Rabbouni! – all her griefs concede no definite article, cloud and rain.
For openness to Love, I pray to heed the merciful duty of simple love.
Like, gracious Love is mercy guaranteed, no definite article: cloud and rain.
Clouds and rain
Esther Greenleaf Mürer
Mother, may I go out to play in the clouds and rain?
Yes, you may go out, but stay away from the clouds and rain.
Water descends in many forms: snow, sleet, hail, downpour,
drizzle, mizzle, fog (halfway between clouds and rain).
All is relative; what's commonplace in Seattle
in the desert is downright recherché: clouds and rain.
We've spent more than we can afford on this one week
at a cottage by the sea. Belay, clouds and rain!
My well-laid plan to incubate yogurt in the sun
has gone weirdly agley: no clouds, just rain.
O King (they say), you outshine the sun, eclipse the moon,
tyrannize the tornado, hold sway over clouds and rain.
Savor unrest, O my soul, bask in disquiet;
Plunge into the great heaving bay of clouds and rain.
Coppery ferns flow through the summer woods like lava;
We want someone to seed, not spay, the clouds: make rain.
My back to the light, I see a double rainbow
and green leaves' glistening array after clouds and rain.