The Sailors

A Poem by Muhammad

Although not the most religious, I took some spiritual inspiration from some of the tragedies that have inflicted my family.

Imagine a journeyman astray in a dark night's sea,

dealing with storms that can frighten jinns.
He is afraid of the beasts that lie below him,

of jumping ship and having to swim.

The thunder roars and the rain pours,

causing turmoil, chaos, and great physical pain.

The sailor searches for the shore ahead,

his inner and outer storms' source is the same.

Despite his boat rocking with pushes and pulls,

or the countless warnings such as in Surah Al-Mulk,

he frets losing his aimless destination,

he is set on keeping his desires full.

The next day sun rays peer through the sea,

shedding light on beautiful coral reefs.
He realizes An-Nur took him on a journey of little ease,

to alleviate his fears of what lies beneath.

Such is the nature of our plane of conscience,

one with lost potential and unexplored contents.
We set sail towards a destination unknown,

with too little concern of what lies beyond our horizons.

Such are the waves of the lives we ride,

just like the constant changing of the tides.
We bow down and remember Him in our lowly lows,

and can barely whisper His name in our highs.

Such is the nature of our Kaynaat.
Zainab, Yasmeen, Sabir, Amna;

A few of many beautiful names we've lost in the storm,

whose losses have caused us great alarm.

They are equally angels as they are reminders,

of our rented ships we keep loftily afloat.

We shortsightedly fret on what lies on our shores,

not realizing our anchors are losing rope.

Yet we quickly return to our waves of life,

heedlessly searching for the shore ahead.
Even when An-Nur tries His best to guide us,

we choose to rejoice in the shade instead.

Our loved ones dwell in a place we can't imagine,

a place not concerned with what mortal eyes perceive.

Unconcerned they are with the tides they once dealt...

...while us sailors below are still lost at sea.

© 2022 Muhammad

Author's Note

Jinns: intelligent spirit of lower rank than the angels, able to appear in human and animal forms and to possess humans.
Surah Al-Mulk: Chapter of the Quran that reflects on the purpose of creation, life and death, tests, and deeds.
An-Nur: Arabic for "The One who guides."
Kaynaat: Arabic for "all creation."

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Reviews

Einstein Noodle

a poem of an internal protagonist .. brave soul who launches into such a journey ... i anything ships, sailors and the sea so enjoyed the analogies ... one will never understand the exterior world without first the internal .. mind, body and soul .. inspirational poem .. sparks meditation says i!
E.

Posted 2 Years Ago

Sami Khalil

Hi Muhammad! Great wisdom in this poem with spiritual dimensions. God, of course, is the Noor for all. His light, great Spirit guides us through inspiration or through His revealed books. I really liked all the references here.