Totem poles of the Unseen

Totem poles of the Unseen
by Azly Rahman

in thyself lies another Universe,
     of landmarks and tombstones and
     of totem poles of the Unseen,
couched merely in languages, concepts, words,
     that await meaning

– in this universe if one knows
-- ones does not exist but is created and destroyed
and recreated daily in a cycle of being and nothingness ..
and this Universe is formless but organic
and can be seen only with the non-existent eyes within
the world outside is an imperfection
that too needs to be lived in and explored
          ... as one is condemned to be free ...

the world inside is a perfect beauty
          and gloriously mathematical
          and symphonic that helps explains
          and guides the world ... outside ...
 as one is condemned to know
... Platonic one could say
being intoxicated by both worlds
       would lead to an imbalance
drinketh not from the River of Forgetfulness, some might say

how could one explain creation of the outside world
     when one cannot see what is created daily
          in one's inner universe?
how could one understand destruction in the outer universe

     when one's inner universe fails to experience inner destruction?
how could one reconstruct oneself out of the ruins of such destruction
     when one cannot master the signs and symbols of the inner world
          and name the temples and totem poles of the inner self?

read oneself well entirely
    and one can read the scriptures within,
    mastering one's destiny and charting one's path of righteousness ...
read in the name of thyself ... as within thyself
           lies the world that explains what lies outside ...

within the course of one's living
within the lifetime of one's existing
lies the story of Creation
only made meaningful if one could see
          how the beginning and the ends of things reveal themselves
           ... the Alpha-Omega of things entire

the world outside of oneself has taken a wrong turn
how could the Merciful and the Compassionate allow
mercilessness and chaos to reign
     from time immemorial
there is as if an angel of Death unleashed and allow to roam
...chaining the angel of beauty and life on its own,
          watching from the cage


speak to me of Existence, said the Outer Self
     as I am lost without an explanation
speak to me of Harmony
     as I am wobbling in this world I traverse
speak to me of Eternity and the Eternal Soul
     as I am a hollow being and has become the wretched of the earth
speak to me of the nature of the Creator and the Created
      of the Reality and one that is being Realized
          the Manifest and the one being Manifested
so that I may not live merely as a speck of dust
     but as a  spirit yearning to rise
     a soul yearning to Know

in the sorrow of men
     lies the evolution of suffering
           of Ignorance
of shattered window to the soul
of eyes that are not taught to see
of the ears that are not taught to hear
...the mouth not taught to utter the
          names forbidden to be spoken of

O' Wise One
Show me the path of the Unseen
     Should I become a devotee to what you are teaching
Show me where Life is
     as it nourishes the Living
Show me where Knowledge resides inside of me
     as it is guided by the One that Knows
O Wise One
where shall I find thee?
when you are now totem poles in me?