Breathtaking Ramadan Poem of the Year

Only The Stethoscoped Eyes

See the visitor, not ‘ghareeb’,
See him, it, far away;
Crawling, behind X months,
He, it, may never get here.

See the visitor! Now nigh!
Beckoning fast like core breeze,
You don’t believe? you delayed?
He, it, will get here by force!
Taking tour in every homes,
Every self should have prepared,
Your lame eyes see him, it, far.
But the keen stethoscoped eyes…
see how soon he will dawn.

They say it, he’s great, generous,
but of parables, selective.
Voicelessly speaks to looking ears
and listening eyes,
Preaching languages you speak,
Only not to understand;
– Tadabbur, tafakkur, zuhd,
iiman, Sadaqah, tahajjud.
Have these words not met you before?
How come they strike you like ‘thingamabobs’?
They seem to you so alien.

See the visitor;
he, it, has now come!
Also brought its gift, one gift,
You see it not still, but…
I’ll make you see what I know.
Taps without whispers, waker at dawn,
Lark without song, livelier at dusk,
Oh, make not your weak self weak!
They are not like breakfast to lunch…
the distance between sahur, iftar,
But…
The food is as Useless as the hunger,
If you do not speak the Visitor’s language;
– Sabr, sacrifice, haqq, pure,
– Istiqamah,
– Qur’an, oooh… Q-u-r-‘-a-a-n.

Only the stethoscoped eyes see,
What beauty is the midnight’s vision,
Sheathing words in quiet leaves,
Reminds the far-sighting eyes,
Success doesn’t just lay on your pillow
for you to meet with it in sleep.
Success finds its home as high,
as the night-standing ones reach.
When their human legs cry
of rest but they heed not!
On their legs they want a tower,
made of iron, khayr, iron, taqwah!
Their iron will last past forever!

Ramadan the visitor,
The visitor was coming walking,
Past nine good seasons,
The visitor arrived running,
through twenty-nine places in our village,
Shan’t we be strong to catch our gift?
Ramadan is going obviously flying,
Have you had your gift- piety?
Blink just once more and…
He, it, is gone!

True hosts will cry, cry;
Oh Lord! Must it go? Why?
‘Oh goodness! oh mercy’!
‘If longer he
could just stay’ – tears,
But a month is long enough.
Your Lord knew that best.
If your eyes are stethoscoped,
See him far away, coming again.

Ramadan Tears building deep.
© Abdul Alim A. Ajenifuja
Meritborne
Ramadan, 1437A.H