Poetry: Ashraf AboArafe

THE book was opened, and the pen was placed
Between two trembling hands—afraid, yet graced
With hope. Her signature became the bond,
And tears flowed through the heart beyond.

O rose of our garden, among your brothers,
You were our life, our smile, like no other.
Your brothers stood beside you, strong and true,
While all our world was softened by you.

Mother wept in shy and silent grace,
While Father hid his longing from his face.
Since you were born, we tended one sweet dream—
You grew, and life arrived as planned by destiny.

How swiftly all the years have flown away—
Your first small steps, your little desk, your day;
The sleepless nights beside your books and prayer,
And all the love that shaped your childhood there.

Then came the father’s voice, with grief concealed,
To Muhannad, whose promise made him healed:

“Cherish Mai… protect the rose we raised,
She is our soul, our love, our home’s embrace.
Guard what we entrust into your care,
And keep her heart with tenderness there.”

You answered, calming all the father’s fears:

“Uncle, do not fear for the hope you hold so dear.
She did not merely enter my loving heart—
She became its living pulse, its deepest part.

She is the compass guiding all my days,
Whatever time may change, whatever alters ways.
Yesterday, today, tomorrow yet to be—
She is my shelter, love, and home to me.

So rest assured: within her garden, in our nest,
A river of affection will forever rest.
It joins the garden where her childhood grew
With this new garden, where her dreams come true.

If her body blooms within the garden new,
Her soul will still return to the home she knew;
And if her spirit wanders through the past,
Her presence here, like petals, still will last.”

The wedding ended. Father came back home,
And opened the door—but found an emptiness there.
He entered slowly, searching every room,
As though his heart still knew the path she used to roam.

Here, she would stand before the mirror bright,
And the full moon seemed to rise upon her face;
The curtains danced to whispers of the days,
As though her laughter still remained in place.

Here, she would sit beside us at the table,
And feed her father from her tender hand;
Her loving touch would sweeten every morsel,
And turn a simple meal to something grand.

Here, her mother gently brushed her hair,
Then held her close before the night;
And all the world grew quiet in her eyes,
While mother’s heart found peace within her light.

Here, her brothers gathered all around,
And laughter filled the rooms from wall to wall;
When she would laugh, the whole house laughed with her—
And when she fell silent, even walls would listen.

Here lay her books… and here her holy book,
Here grew the dreams that childhood carried on;
Here were her little footsteps through our home,
Here lingered every voice before it was gone.

The mother and the father stood aside,
And gazed upon the memories left behind:

“Here she slept… here lived our brightest smile;
Here she first drew her dreams upon the earth.
Here was our rose… here was her fragrance,
And here our hearts learned what true tenderness was worth.

She has not truly left, though home has changed;
For love between two hearts has neither place nor age.”

She left the garden where her childhood grew
To bloom within the garden of her own,
She left—and carried all our prayers with her,
While leaving love within our hearts alone.

O Lord, to You our trembling hearts turn,
Seeking Your mercy, Your peace, Your guiding light;
Bless Mai and Muhannad through their years,
And make their path a road of joy and right.

Keep Mai a blessing in Muhannad’s eyes,
And make him, in her heart, her shelter and her shade;
Fill their home with mercy, love, and peace,
And let their bond grow stronger, never fade.

Grant them, from Your boundless grace, good children,
Like dawn arriving after nights of prayer;
And though her footsteps travel from our garden,
Give her a home forever in our hearts there.

Make our two gardens one garden of affection,
Where distance cannot sever what we share;
Let every meeting bring the joy of reunion,
And every memory become a whispered prayer.

O God, protect our rose within her garden,
And bathe her mornings in Your mercy’s dew;
Bless every step she takes along her journey,
And keep her heart secure and peaceful too.

Whenever we raise our hands in supplication,
Receive the prayers of father, mother, kin;
Keep safe the love that time can never conquer,
And let its light remain forever within.

O Lord… our rose has opened into blossom;
Let every garden give her peace and grace.
Protect Mai and Muhannad all their lifetime,
And crown their love with joy, with peace, with Your embrace.

May their ending be contentment,
Their journey filled with love and light,
Their home with happiness and mercy,
And their hearts forever joined in what is right.

Amen, Lord of all the worlds.