The Balcony

The Balcony
by Azly Rahman
 

the past seems so far yet so near
the future seem so distant yet it is here
as i close my eyes and call upon the ones so dear,
     to meet me in Time that has collapsed entire
as i look down below from way above yonder
     sharing my blessings with those in need ...
with those in conditions dire
     -- Amen

I had asked you once
if your suffering is a bed of nails of a joy unfathomed
if your sorrows are a pathway of thorns you traversed unscatched
     you were silent
I could see the pain in your eyes
The window to the inner you shattered a million times
Your screams only the inner world in you could hear

You were silent
I had asked you not once but many times
To bless thy cells and each and every atoms in your body
To speak to every single vein
To breathe life into each breath
To close your eyes and stare at the finiteness in you
      until it explodes into infiniteness
     You were silent
You have not understood
What your silence means
What you shall worship
      and where you shall direct your offerings
Unlike any other worships you have seen
I had asked you to do these
Not once, but many times
     You were silent
Though you worship … still
          In your suffering

Times that I look down yonder below
     from my balcony of hope
          and of love, and deliverance
I had asked many souls
Of what it means to read and read
     in the name of this or that …
I had asked walls and stones and rivers and forests , even

Where does one begin to read the self entire and see
     where the story begins
Where the conflict arises
Where the climax arises
Where it reaches multiple heights
Where is all gradually find meanings … unfolding
Where it will all end
Where it will begin .. in a different realm
I had asked many
     to read oneself
     like a scripture wide open
As wide as the vastness
     of a merciful ocean
But read many cannot
Illiterate they have become
Closed is the book of life
     when kingdom comes

Shall I then conclude our conversation by this:
     Unto you your readings
          Unto mine is my understanding

-Amen