Poetry: Ashraf AboArafe
Is there no bridle for the recklessness of this Ego,
While so many arrows have already stormed through our meadows?
Our childhood misleads us with its whims,
And as youth arrives, the inner warfare intensifies.
It fights me from within, residing between my ribs,
Like a wolf that stirs whenever bones appear.
I try to tame it, but it breaks free from my tether,
While self-reproach pierces through my serenity.
I see my “Ego” as a king ruling over a mirage,
Pledged allegiance by arrogance and the drifting crowds.
It tempts the traveler of time with the glitter of wealth,
As if fortune could grant eternity and permanence!
It drags him toward the seduction of every beautiful face
That once used to captivate the heart with infatuation.
It runs after the fame of a fleeting voice,
Applauded in hypocrisy by the undiscerning masses.
And it craves the glory of power and prestige,
To which tyrants and the great nobles bow down.
Yet all these temptations are nothing but ashes,
To be scattered by the winds, leaving no permanence.
For all the facades of this world are mere transient pleasures,
And all earthly positions are but crumbling debris.
To the deep, unseen clay we shall all return,
And only His Face remains, while the world fades into darkness.
So how do we restrain a child trapped inside
The robes of an old man, whose ultimate destination is the end?!
Come, O reckless Ego, let us sit together,
For after old age, there is no place left for vanity.
Let the whims depart into the dust,
For the abundant ink in my inkwell has dried up.
My Lord.. O Sovereign of the Universe, take me
To Your forgiveness, for indeed my past is but dust.
In utter humility, I have knelt the camels of this life
At Your door, where all darkness is dispelled.
Aid me, O Spring of the Soul, and restrain
The wildness of my self when the final hour approaches.
And bless the twilight of my life with a light
Through which the burning thirst of the heart is quenched.
For You are Allah.. You are Truly the Succor
When the final moments storm through my days.
