Ghazal of the Month for October
Alison Marshall
way from the beauty of the one for which she longs.
Shamed by her wretched state, she cowers before the thought
of him; he sees her through it, she can't hold it for too long.
It "bestows the nourishment of beauty without measure",
and that is a food she has not been used to for long.
If you glance at me, Wild One, I will die. Come
now! Produce the bloodstained hands in which I belong.
Hold this moon to you; impress your spirit's sweet form
on the waters of this melted soul, for which you long.
He is the curved wave of her breast's soft form. It is the lover's
humility that is the beauty for which the beloved longs.
Foolish ones! Reign from the poverty of your heart. Break
your covenant with fear; no need to bring arrogance and pride along.
Go now, Zaynab, and beg him his heart be kind to me.
It is the gateway to heaven, and the passage through which I long.