*These ghazals were first published in M. Shahid Alam, Yardstick of Life (KDP, March 2024)

I

He makes each day a resurrection.
Qur’an (25:47)
From sleep you awake
To mercy and his might.
He resurrects your body
To see you in His light.
Consider, why your days
Alternate with nights.
Sháhid, you were a clot.
Remember and recite.

II

You too would think the world of her
If you like Qays¹Qays: archetype of distraught lover in Arabian legend; Read – Iqra, in Arabic – the first words of the Qur’an conveyed to Muhammad by Gabriel. would look inside.
When Gabriel commanded, Read,
Muhammad froze and shook inside.
Muhammad brought the idols down.
Have you since then looked inside?
Sháhid, these pithy words are proof,
For ripeness you must cook inside.

III

It gets harder staying true.
It has been touch and go.
Bye, he said and was gone.
And I, What a way to go.
Hew your tree into an ark.
Find your ocean, let it go.
How will you deal with us
If He lets your people go?
Sháhid, a sufi chided me,
You have a long way to go.

Dr. M. Shahid Alam's poems charm through their wit, and satisfy through their insights into the paradoxes of the human condition. The influence of the Urdu and Persian literary traditions is most apparent, but other influences make themselves felt as well, including—perhaps surprisingly—the language-molding of Paul Celan and the plainspoken domesticity of William Carlos Williams. These lively poems of love, socio-political critique, nature, and the spirit reward the reader again and again. Available at Amazon.