However, keep in mind that my more recent poems are posted closer to the bottom.
The Reign of Pain
It's raining outside, as the pigeons fly around a nearby mosque.
The sky reminds me of my thoughts, which seem to be flying away in the flock.
Today is a little too rainy, even for the likes of me.
I feel unsafe, for an obsession is taking over me.
-Copyright �[9.3.1998] A.R. Khani
Lifeless Love of a Loveless life
Learn to love my love I strive,
but love to love my love likes not,
for love to her is a lively bee-hive,
sweet yet bitter...soothing yet not...
Loved to love my love for life,
but love to life brought mortal lie,
and what is love but a bee-hive?
bitter and coarse...hurtful and worse...
Love to me became a lifeless dove,
as love to her was a lively shove,
I loved to strive for a thing not mine,
I strived and loved, and loved, and loved, for love itself cannot...
Took my hand she did for a moment,
I close my eyes and the moment gone.
she took my hand and with it my dignity.
hurting my eyes are, from the light burning before me.
here I deny the light leading to my hurtful delight,
for to strive for love is to lay in white what was past a Might.
-Copyright �[26.11.2000] A.R. Khani
Learn to say Never
Walking down the street, a girl,
her hair was clean with such a swirl,
her back was nice,
her ass was curved,
what men would die to have her lured.
I saw her legs, those wonderous legs,
they made me want to beat my eggs,
I stared and stared for enough I got not,
I saw those legs and stop they would not!
Her ass was a wonder that had to be pondered,
now let me speak of that 8th missing wonder,
it moved in such motion and with such precise rythm,
it reminded me that Hercules definitely needed to be hidden.
I saw her back, that spinal curve,
never I thought I'd be so hurt,
to see a girl who's rear I'd seen,
make me so lustful and want to scream.
I looked at her neck and saw but no hair,
she had done up her hair to show her neck fair,
her skin was soft,
her body was loft,
yet now I was impatient and was developing a clot...
I stopped for a moment and realized a thought,
my five minute chase had expanded alot,
I felt very nervous for here was a girl,
what men would die to spend a night as her lure.
I gathered my strength and bravened myself,
for here was a chance to get one I'd shelf.
I held in my breath and walked really fast,
her ass was at last a step from my grasp!
I whispered a "psst" and she turned as would a queen,
I never expected to see a REAL DRAG queen.
I looked at her face and churned as I gazed,
I quickly changed my direction and forever pretended to be dazed.
-Copyright �[17.12.2000] A.R. Khani
Circles
Turning in circles I had not but one destination,
I looked at my palms and saw all my hesitation.
I thought of one thought, then thought of another,
but thoughts in a heart that loves not is a bother.
Moving in circles I gave into temptation,
I looked in the mirror and saw all my limitation.
I cursed at myself and yelled as I held,
that little bit of hope that was yet to be dealt.
Walking in circles I told myself "no!"
they told me one lie...that ONE made me go.
to give onself hope is to live by the rope.
this rope was once hope till my neck it did grope.
stopping to reflect I saw aim in the circle,
a miracle from God that made man such a turtle...
-Copyright �[28.12.2000] A.R. Khani
Roses are Blue
A rose to me grand,
a petal in other hands.
of me she was fond,
and claimed in beyond.
I knew I'd be wrong,
yet I stood her for long.
a Victim of lust,
and fast losing trust.
I counted the petals,
making it well settled,
as grand as she be,
she belittled me.
letting away her love at bay,
to live her days shortlived and grey.
-Copyright �[8.5.2001] A.R. Khani
Brief Whisper
When you feel tired,
when you feel pain,
when your chest is burdened with troubles,
let them all go...including the chains.
Unite with the beauties of life,
let everything go,
and remember to love God,
for helping you reach your goal.
Look around you,
have no fear,
be in peace,
for an end is near...
...what is Peace you ask?
look into silence...they are here.
-Copyright �[5.12.2000] A.R. Khani
who's love?
A letter drifting by the sand,
the "L" I lifted in my hand.
in paper wrapped I made it stand,
and held it up for greater chance.
A letter sitting by my door,
the letter "o" of steel and oar.
the emptiness it brought alone,
completeness was its aim to own.
A letter fallen off my book,
the letter "v" my thoughts it shook.
two lines very similar connected by end,
the lines become one, a letter God meant.
A letter found within my mind,
the letter "e" completes this rhyme.
the rhyme that exclaims little attention,
is formed perfectly with a little affection.
these letters alone bring only confusion,
but love in one's heart brings them all into fusion.
-Copyright �[21.5.2001] A.R. Khani
Thoughts of an Idler
Here I am smart as ever,
I'm reading Plato, feeling clever,
I sip some coffee and bite my lip,
the coffee's hot, it fucked my lip.
I think you'd want to take my tip,
never drink coffee, instead take sips.
enough with drinking, I called your cell,
you switched it off, or maybe it fell.
Whichever it was though I'm sure you know,
more often than not in my mind you flow.
I'm wanting to tell you yet somehow I can't,
how much I like you, but phrase it I can't.
I want you to know I care alot,
even though I may show it not.
-Copyright �[26.9.2001] A.R. Khani
The Need
I think I'm falling through and through,
scared I was, so I withdrew,
my thoughts of indifference about myself,
brought anger and grievance to hate oneself.
Your eyes I saw, they said "I've seen",
your heathenish seam wouldn't last if so lean.
you distance yourself from all that is different,
yet difference itself, you claim is your reference.
You know what you want, and point at it clearly.
yet a cloud is so far, and hold you can't nearly.
I look away for I know too,
A cloud in the sea is all that is true.
The irony in life is to learn when you see.
yet you see and you see, and you learn but to see.
-Copyright �[28.9.2001] A.R. Khani
The Tried and Tired
I'm tired of all the anger,
I'm tired of all the fear.
I'm tired of all the frustration,
It's enough that I have to feel.
I'm tired of all the sorrow,
I'm tired of all unclear.
I'm needing a new beginning,
I'm wanting someone who's 'here'.
I'm tired of picking daisies,
I'm tired of all closed doors.
I'm tired of holding roses,
their thorns are painful sores.
I'm tired of having arguements,
I'm tired of all thats tore.
I'm tired of having arguements,
because arguing is all, and more.
-Copyright �[29.9.2001] A.R. Khani
Electric Blue
Look upon the paper,
which holds a meaning true.
look upon the paper.
It speaks a truth for two.
Look for deeper meaning,
ignorance may be bliss.
truth is but for teaching,
unknown to you is this.
Your world is but a visual gift,
a gift for an eye, an eye that drifts.
exceedingly mild is your craving to earn,
yet, yearn and you earn and you burn what you learn.
teach yourself the truth you feel,
for ill of truth shall not fulfill.
-Copyright �[15.10.2001] A.R. Khani
a thought
In spite of doubt,
One's heart must shout.
remember your drought,
and you'll never be without...
-Copyright �[20.10.2001] A.R. Khani
Gloomy...yes, Gloomy
I appreciate your concern and I'm greatful too.
Yet I'm feeling abit down, for there's reason to.
I'm sitting here reading what would have been true,
but neglect in ones heart makes a difference too.
She sent me her last email, the last meant for two.
Yet I read it today, Seeing irony in it too.
I was told by a friend not to feel so blue,
and I said "friend...I thought she cared for me too".
It may have been my fault, it may have been hers,
but truth of the matter is SHE made it all worse.
If the reason be, what happened last night,
I'll be damned in hell for all days and nights.
She needed a reason to get out of it all,
and what better way, than to blame me for all.
Excuse the drama, I don't mean to stall you,
how I really feel, I thought I should tell you.
-Copyright �[26.10.2001] A.R. Khani
Tiffany and Company
...and then it happened...
...the second coming...
...thoughts for thoughts...
...dots are dots...
...to take this place...
...to take this space...
...you gave me hope...
...and can take it away...
...you feel, but yet you are weiry...
...your fear of a loss I see, so clearly...
...your hand I'll take, but I'll give mine too...
...two hearts at stake, need confidence...true.
...help me through, and I'll help you too...
...a blue rose is true, but only with you...
...I read a letter and held my chest...
Sarah...Red is what separates you, from the rest...
-Copyright �[13.11.2001] A.R. Khani
A Poem Yet To Be Written
Close your eyes, take a break.
Your heart to take, is but a mistake.
I feel a truth, but feel I do.
So take this hand, and hear its truth.
Truth is a fact...and fact is true,
if truth of my being is the only thing due...
Take time to go back, and live as they did,
you'll realize a truth, and much will be rid.
I bid you live the Trojan war,
or maybe even live at Troy.
Those men of honor gave their lives,
Knowing their fate, some lived, some died.
You live a life and honor you claim,
but honor is shame, when money you claim.
Goodness is what you claim to feel,
but feelings are all but what you steal.
So let us be as Troy in Greece,
and live our lives without its greed.
-Copyright �[19.11.2001] A.R. Khani *revised
One Quiet Day
It's very quiet at home today.
I'm sitting here with nothing to say.
I shall write this journal as Poem and Pray,
that none of my thoughts are for granted and stray.
I'd rather be sitting in tree's till I'm grey,
but my Mind's thinking loud and my heart is its prey.
I wondered "what's poetry?"
why write what I hate?
When at times I feel lowly,
and I write, "why wait...?"
It gives what it takes!
the heart of its giver...
for, given is haste,
as the heart it may quiver.
-Copyright �[19.11.2001] A.R. Khani
From Me to You
Insignifigance is significant,
to me not you.
to give myself reason to believe,
to be without you.
I'm scared of these people,
I'm scared not of you.
I treasure you greatly,
for your gift is for two.
And live I could not,
without knowing you.
-Copyright �[25.11.2001] A.R. Khani
Time, Time, and Time again
Too many times I've seen the hearts pass by.
too manytimes, too many times.
Too many times people let the heart pass by.
too many times, too many times.
Too many times I've seen heartless souls.
too many times, too many times.
Too many times I've been with aimless souls.
too many times, too many times.
Too many times I've told myself "LEARN Ali...learn..."
too many times, too many times.
Too many times I've trusted blindly.
too many times I've preached the contrary.
Too many times I've relied on someone.
too many times the unspeakable was done.
Too many times I've felt for "le femme".
too many times they'll think this is for them.
Too many errors I've had in my life.
they've all been wrong, but I can't blame "them".
Too many times I've a pen in hand.
nothing but my own, is this helping hand.
Too many times I've written a poem...but for who??
too many times I've told the truth, through and through.
Too many times the ignorant shall read.
too many times they shallowly breathe.
But in the end it doesn't really matter...
Because too many times is too many times.
-Copyright �[26.11.2001] A.R. Khani
dust...a four letter word
Once upon a symbolic time, there lived a beautiful princess.
famed in all her space and time, careless was this princess.
she hated her land, and despised her own people.
for she loved to be loved, yet feared all that was evil.
she thought people lusted, or perhaps were disgusted.
Divinity she trusted, still herself she distrusted.
she saw but alot, of what others did not.
she knew she loved, but Love itself did not.
the love she claimed was claimed before, so hers it was no more.
she prayed to love and prayed for more, but Love was love no more.
she was gifted in ways she did not know,
and she lived her days looking to and fro.
she lived and lived, comparing people to eachother,
yet she never sat down to compare herself to those better.
she knew there was wrong and felt what was true.
but convince herself could not, even though it was due.
An oracle passed, and said in wise words,
"thou hast become but a vision for doubt!
thou say'st that thou trusts! but thou doubts thou'st own trust!
you must sit and reflect, and upon reflection you must.
for the trust that you thrust, you must learn also to trust.
In the mirror you see, but an image you believe to be.
Dear child, try and understand yourself, for then only shall you be".
The princess looked empty, but thoughtful she was,
and the oracle knew, so he left her some dust.
he said "take this in your hand, it is but something to hold,
and though it may someday leave you, below your feet it shall fold.
It is dust as like any other,
and may be replaced with yet another.
study it with love and you shall certainly see,
only THIS dust is what helped you see.
you shall have this dust today and perhaps not tomorrow.
this i'm giving to you, as it is something I also borrowed.
It is up to you, what you do I trust you must.
remember this dust,
it will be with you forever,
and once you understand its lust,
you'll appreciate its presence around you forever".
The princess shed but only a tear,
and wetted the dust which in hand was near.
she observed as the dust obsorbed her one tear.
and though her eye dried, this dust kept her tear.
And so it happened that this pure dust could feel,
this princess's tears that were never too dear.
cry not in the presence of another could she,
and only this dust, her true feelings could see.
the days went by and her selfish being,
kept her turning to this dust in the hope of well-being.
little by little, this dust would escape,
till there was no more of this dust, when one day she awaked.
she cried and she cried, for she felt her great loss,
and the oracle returned to explain her feared loss.
He said "dear child, you were selfish again,
taking shelter for pain in the dust I beclaimed.
I told you to understand, yet you looked in it not.
and felt but no greatness in the true gift you got.
It was there for a reason, for you to see,
that though it brought comfort, it may someday take leave.
If only you appreciated, would you hold your head high,
when it left you as it did, without reason or goodbye.
If you sat and observed would you only have seen,
that the dust left you not, but gave you your dream.
you were unhappy with life and saw sorrow in all,
and the dust was your companion, throughout it all.
It left you for it saw it was special no more,
and you used it as only a reason to mourn.
It left you not my child! it left you not!
it's here all around you, but you looked in it not,
you were busy in YOUR world and beheld its greatness not,
and now it SEEMS it betrayed you for it left unsaid alot.
BUT DUST COULD NOT UTTER WORD MY CHILD!
HOW MAY IT SPEAK ITS TRUTH?!
it was up to you to SEE my child, and FEEL its silenced root...
And now you see that it has gone, no matter what I say,
lets close this chapter and be no more, for dust has gone its way.
-Copyright �[14.12.2001] A.R. Khani *revised
Why I am I
No more am I the man,
than for my humbleness.
no more am I sincere,
than for MY strive for perfection.
no more am I true to love,
than for my own true being.
no more am I, I,
than for my own understanding.
no more am I understood,
than for my own misunderstanding.
no more am I giving,
than for my own withstanding.
-Copyright �[26.12.2001] A.R. Khani
when sometimes you think you know
sometimes you see what you must,
sometimes you just blindly trust,
I've had my share, and now this gust,
shall take me away, away with the dust.
as rivers flow, so does Emotion,
and this never ending notion,
is what brings us commotion.
the river looks wild, but with time and admiration,
one learns to appreciate its timely aspiration.
look a little closer and you shall surely see,
this river is but dirt, mixed with an element, to be.
Step into its water, and you'll be taken away,
not knowing where, but wishing it be fair.
this wish, an oasis of the mind, is not always granted.
and like an oasis, can be seen only when tempted.
truth can be seen not by those who were granted;
truth is true if you believe in the enchanted.
in the end, the river is what it was yesterday;
where it took you is where it would yesterday.
-Copyright �[05.01.2002] A.R. Khani
Indifference Often Makes a Difference
If you have sinned and shed your skin,
let nothing be, infected within.
I've sinned and sinned, and sinned alot.
yet sin squared thrice is forgiven not.
I've strived to be perfect,
to be greater than you,
yet the day ends as usual,
sinners are me and you.
The time to move on is always the day,
to give up your past by speaking today.
spoken your past you have you say?
so have I; it helped not but to fray.
let go of your guilt and your worries alike,
let someone you trust give you back to your life.
an incomplete trust brings nothing but rust,
to a portrait of love turned ugly by lust.
If indifference itself brings you back into light,
then surely this light is but the dimmest white.
indifference makes a difference as with anything it would,
but the difference withers as its purpose may allude.
-Copyright �[12.01.2002] A.R. Khani
the moment of denial
The minutes pass by worthlessly,
the seconds pass by slower still...
Time makes all my Being ill,
my thoughts are what i must fulfill.
The minutes pass by worthlessly,
The seconds make the world seem old...
my fingers cold, the things they hold...
will tell no more the stories told.
A broken sweat falls down a face,
of hurt stirred words bringing time to pace.
essential is this endless wait,
which sometimes brings a mind to hate.
The minutes pass by worthlessly,
The seconds are what make me scold.
as memories repeat and the seconds fold,
even my reflection is seeming cold.
I saw an angel in the sea,
I blinked and it stung me like a bee.
I counted the seconds and felt the beginning;
something I thought would have not a beginning.
I fell back slowly on the bed,
as someone gently rested my head.
I smiled in my head, I'm where roses are red.
I lay now in my beautiful death bed.
-Copyright �[20.01.2002] A.R. Khani
someones worth
you're only worth what you deserve.
you're only worth a penny by earth.
what you give can also be given,
by any other who's also forgiven.
what you take may have previously been taken.
so give as you may; accept not whats been shaken.
a pettal to you may be worth but nothing,
to whom it belonged it was part of something.
you're only worth a penny on earth,
this life is nothing to those unearthed.
live your life not to what seems the fullest,
treat it only as you would a tempest.
what you plant was planted before you.
what you pluck was plucked before you.
you're not any different from those before you.
so give up your love, Love was love before you.
you'll live your life to bloom your worth,
and see you will, that life's your worth.
nothing you give will be pleasure to treasure.
nothing you take will be special to measure.
yourself will be the one who notes,
the things you do that are worth a quote.
you're special to noone,
you're loving but one.
you're only worth what you deserve.
-Copyright �[22.01.2002] A.R. Khani
sleepless dream (or) dreamless sleep
I walk the walk and talk the talk,
myself unseen, nor what I saught.
I hear all echoes in my head,
my words repeating in my bed.
My life seems familiar yet oddly too,
In heaven I think I'll owe my due.
I look around and see despair,
people without me live unfair.
But I don't feel them; nor see them now,
for they don't see what broke my brow.
I pace around in happy land,
my breath at stake, my will at hand.
at last I meet and speak to man.
he gave me hope when others ran.
I told him my dream is seeming true.
he handed a gun "the sound will wake you".
In fear and disgust I turned my back,
to end this nightmare by coming back,
I reflected a little and looked in the mirror.
I realized my face was but odd for a little.
Ignorant of the pains behind "come what may",
I ran to the window and jumped; no delay.
expecting to fly and land safely in bed.
already I feel glass shards...oh...my head.
The rest of the fall I questioned my taste,
and thought to myself "this dream was a waste".
I anticipate the seconds as they slowly pass,
I tell them "quicker, I want my break...fast!".
My attention drifts and I glimpse in glass,
windowed in masses that pass by my mass.
I note the reflection and gaze in strange eyes,
as if being told these were the last of my eyes.
Ignorant still, I smile at the ground,
"my bed WILL be found" is all I would sound.
I've dreamt this before; I woke in my bed.
the dream is a trick, to fool that I'm dead.
the impact was hard,
flesh; destined to ward.
to punish me by dreaming,
is aim for his teaching.
I'm ignorant still, and in hell I am dreaming.
-Copyright �[04.02.2002] A.R. Khani
Awaiting The Coming
a balloon in winter is somewhat depressing.
a lame balloonman is gracefully crying.
it's cold and dark; Occasionally glimpsing
casted balloons in street lamps...flickering.
redgreenblue...blue bluer than blue,
to wind were glued...the wind so rude.
feet fitting in ice, one step at a time,
makes the loudest murder seem whiskfully mime.
forsythia blowing his wishful mind.
true, others too have broken this bind.
a rocking cradle his mind has taken,
when twenty centuries were all forsaken.
a passionate prayer, even the lamb slayer
neglected the giver and bringer of payers.
the balloonman cries, as a gyrating eye
his balloons have left him...you and I.
echoes of feet across the bridge,
the balloonman looks!
noBody, nay no soul.
-Copyright �[19.03.2002] A.R. Khani *revised
negligence
the nightmare seems so bright tonight.
ah! negligence at its height tonight.
the temperature rises; my breathing gaunted.
idea's of nirvana, my reality have taunted.
[...]
myself I've learned to put aside,
for better days I shall astride.
I've looked to God, to Heaven, then Earth;
I've only earned but patiences worth.
[...]
On Earth I stride, I give and confide.
at times I too bide and wait for the tide.
ignorant to the thoughtful deeds of others,
my heart slowly dies as it carelessly withers.
withered away in solitude grey,
neglect shall keep this man at bay.
-Copyright �[27.03.2002] A.R. Khani *revised
A walk in the garden with Faith and...
A Garden tree'sandabench
needing a fence;
cigarrette in mouth
pen in hand
this bending land
needs its mending hand
the grains
beneath
my feet which roll
the ants beneath
live lives untold
will they go to heaven?
my breath i wish to hold.
-Copyright �[27.04.2002] A.R. Khani
a homosapien said:
i am alone,
and so are you.
-Copyright �[31.7.2002] A.R. Khani
Crucial Timing
a fly is still
on the wall.
the hands work hard to bring some heat, to
the otherwise cold silent white.
mirrored hexagons
showing the fall.
the falling of leaves in an old neat street.
the warmth in the otherwise cold sweet night.
the dew on a leaf
bound to befall.
one eye, of a thousand, starts the retreat and
brings new meaning to the might of the height.
-Copyright �[3.8.2002] A.R. Khani
A Day Off The Seventh
justification has named himself a god
just as truth
has freed itself its self as make-believe...
no man is bound by anything no more,
as what started with Zoroastrianism
has now become a dove of salvation.
a dove
makes every innocent gasp seem pure.
and Purity
it seems, has become a pardon for Faith.
and of Puppy Love,
that which they shall never accept...
for they even deny the very essence they believe.
but what do these disbelievers have to give as sacrifice to their god?
the believer tries to believe:
but the Zionist today is worth less
than he was yesterday.
and just as my handwriting changes,
so does everything else in this soil.
for it is the gift of free-will that changes God's scripting.
is there really an afterlife?
and while you sit, on that day
to ponder this question;
i shall rise to the clouds
and await God's true salvation.
you say you go to church every Sunday,
but the steeple can only reach
so high in the sky.
you say you pray
five times a day,
but I�ve seen those with no discretion,
and prayer to them is but another tradition.
God is not seen in the complexity of logic,
but in the simplicity of nature.
and this is why my verse
is of this essence.
the giraffe enjoys the green of high branches,
and the rabbit, the embrace of the meadow.
yet
neither can enjoy the others' nibbles...
nothing in this world shares everything.
but everything goes halves with denying the endurance of God.
only today,
when man has become a creator for himself,
is this possible.
God�s oneness is the kind of truth insisting that
light,
and the Poplar that pines for it,
were made by the same hand.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
Condemnation of Perfection
I am a perfectionist.
I lay stones to build my path.
Within a Raven's sight:
Earth, and Sea.
Compose histories; religions alike
We do.
Evolve
We do.
And as I evolve
In subtle, idle manner,
I am reminded not to strive.
I cannot help myself-
-I am told.
I hope
But it is false hope-
-I am told.
False hope
Is the parody of life I say.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
Earth's Resurrection
You glorify the heavens,
And the sun, as a star, you belittle.
The devout changed
This temporal soil
Into an enduring hell.
The heathen turns it into his
Eternal blissful resting place.
It
A destine less orb
Rolling along to a significant end
In a complete and utter 'nothing'.
Tomorrow
The dryness of fractured soil
Shall chart the plan of another time.
This soil knows no rose,
No Romeo,
And no Juliet.
It knows no me to you.
It knows no wisdom.
No truth.
This land shall breathe
The freshness of subjugation,
Yet again,
To life.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
The Fate of Their Marduk
From the south the Lord shall appear they say
With arms at hand
Radiating light
From every direction.
The Lord they speak as
Owning the heavens,
As ploughing the skies
As six days passed.
The wings
The knowledge
The timeless subsistence;
His final bout shall pour rain
Unto life.
The flood shall cleanse
And no nation shall clash.
They speak of our Lord
As a fiery of stones.
Dear Lord,
Bear their souls
For they no not your wrath,
They no not your grace,
They no not your face.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
Punished is The Child
Have I not the right to be
As a thousand nights have preyed in me?
Have you always led me astray?
To shortened nights and spears of day?
I dare not spread these shields
Of branched love's own mantle.
I�ve taken more of she to me
Than to my fingers tender.
Oh simple Love! Be gone with you
Your days have robbed the nights.
But stay with me I need not know
Why love's one night just might...
A child sang then and heaved his soul
Still singing he is now.
His laughing heart and tender mind
Have left some room for doubt.
As time grows old, as grass bends low,
This child has come to feel.
Oh love of life! what give you me?
My heart but only stumbles.
These words of mine are simple yet-
-And still I have no "yet..."
Excuses stop when elders find
That secret place of mine.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
Rejoicing in Rejection
Grace
Is greater than I.
The skin on my palms,
Full of dirt.
They are mine, they respond to my command,
And I am selfish.
I am assessed
Everyday.
The bronze bird
Seems far now.
God's grace
Is always
Near.
I am questioned
Constantly
As though I am not
Of pure blood.
And I am not.
I am the child
Given by God
To my parents.
And I am judged
Everyday
For this.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
untitled
Temperament:
The enemy of the state.
Plato, Socrates,
What were you thinking?
Times are times
And people are people.
Things don't change.
People could wish
But
Age gives,
Then it takes.
Temperament remains
the same.
We love
We hate
And justly
We abate.
A republic is never what it seems.
We are less than the bronze race.
We are of a lesser generation
We have no greater goal than ourselves.
We know nothing.
Other races frown upon our limitations.
Other races mock the very reason
For our existence.
And still we exist.
God
Help us.
A wind of change is distantly near.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
The War in Our Gardens
i killed your child.
you disemboweled mine.
i'm sorry i crippled your place of worship,
you should be too, for you crumbled my home.
your wife lost a limb;
i carried mine to her grave.
i'm sorry the gases bore you a crippled child.
the same weapons took away my daughter's sight.
i'm sorry our mines hindered your stroll in the gardens.
those same mines have forever shortened my stride.
you're probably sorry you did not shoot me,
for i was the one who turned your face.
what separated you and i
was the common fear to die.
you chose to freeze, as i pulled the trigger,
only now does my body like yours shiver.
i write this letter as i look through your wallet,
only two feet away i see your exposed palate.
your wife is very beautiful,
even more so than mine was.
i am sorry
i took away
what a good life was made of.
today,
the war in these gardens
has had one casualty
too many.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
Only an obstacle
The cold on a cliche night,
And the air that follows it.
The damp, soft souls,
And the dry ones alike:
Aching bones I have.
Your opposing manner
Is harsh on my body
Yet soothing to my soul.
You are cold.
You ignore me.
I am nothing.
But I am yours;
I am here
And serve my time with you
I will
Until the day you disown me...
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
Eliot, Then Why Is It...?
A tap is dripping and dropping.
Slouched on a couch,
My face propped,
Yet dropping in a pit in my hand.
Drip, drop,
I care not for water.
Drip, drop,
It stops.
I am told
It was all in my head.
A sly meowing form
Out a static window
I see briefly.
Then, gripping paws dismissed.
I alone saw it.
My face still propped
On the rim of a bottomless ditch.
A brother just coughed
Two feet away.
A light bulb dims
And then glows.
A befitting silence follows;
I look at the brother.
I alone saw it,
For I was looking.
A silent sigh is ridden by vision.
Seen to be true
Is a truth that be seen.
Drip, drop, drip,
It stops.
And there was never any water.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
A paved photograph
And as I crouch on the side-step,
The person on the sepia-toned photo
Looks older than expected.
Why make durable
the image of a being so brittle?
The photo captures less than a second
of the centuries of wisdom contained within.
Crumpled shades
show me sorrows
of one life.
Meanwhile
a pavement
shows humanity
forsaking
even the one enduring second;
a fragment of itself.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
Dream#2
Pacing around with the souls of the dead,
I cry as the floor beneath me fades.
Try as I may but earth slips away,
The time has come when enough we have bred.
A sultry breeze rises from Hades,
The scene of an end it may portray.
The cross of a steeple point's overhead;
Meanwhile, Satan counsels his trick of trade.
I look up at Heaven and begin to pray.
The end of faith is all that I dread.
I ran to the church, my respects I paid.
Tried holding the walls, but none of them stay.
I realize that soon all will be dark red.
Abated, abased, by God I abide.
The doves clash together in graceful flight,
Trees swing and sway in revolt,
The word of mouth travels faster than man's actions,
And the floor beneath retains its liquidity.
Bricks,
Grass,
Soil;
They fall with a scream.
Scylla, and the Sirens, they'd be put to shame.
I glance at a flight of stairs.
The Word of God placed upon each step:
Vertical upon each horizontal,
The hardbound, my weight supports.
I close my eyes and pray to He
These feet of mine who made.
Place foot on bind and bind this bind
That God has placed for me.
Drop tears of fear, self-repentance, and joy
His word he gave to me.
The wood-steps rip and splinters fly
But poised I stand for thee.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
Untitled#2
I saw the window
The dust, a reminder
The barrier clearer than ever now
Dry mud has always reminded me
Change does not accentuate 'cease'
But rather shows transition
Dust was once mud
I saw the window
The dust, a reminder
Everything embraces
The window and dust remind me
Dust I see upon the world
Stained is the glass
Dusty is the world
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you 'Genius'
People can be wrong.
Our nature allows this.
People can be true,
And others not.
God has forbade
Everything
That renounced him.
We are all sinners,
Whether we accept
Or not.
I hate,
So do you.
We are brothers
In sin.
This brings us together
And brings us apart
The same.
Sin
Has led us
For so long.
Verse
Makes very little sense now.
And "what is sin?"
I ask of you who sin's.
You who sin
You who sin
You sin
I sin
I am imperfect.
I am impure.
I am not of pure blood.
I never will be.
I, I, I;
All I ever speak of.
Verse, to verse,
To hymn, to words.
Words repeat
Till gist they have
No more.
Question life
I did.
Now question myself
I do.
"Who is sane?"
I ask of you though.
The majority.
Majority rules.
Rules
Laws
Existence.
Another flood
Perchance.
Wipe this soil
Of souls
Like mine.
Age of reason
A figment
Of one man,
Has led us
Nowhere.
Genius
Is celebrated.
Genius dies.
It grew,
It shaped flames,
It raised man to the clouds
In more than one way.
It taught,
It sang,
And then it wilted away
In a dark corner.
No substance maintained.
No wisdom contained.
Fame is deceptive,
But how else
May genius depict?
Questions remain questions
No answers are certain.
Time ends once
In the mind of flesh.
Torture,
An archetype,
Shall outlast others.
Time remains
But not for our current minds.
Currents mock.
The sands look up
Then down
On man.
Hate
Sin
Reason
Time
Death.
There is no matter.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
A poem I wrote for I know not who
Walking in a garden, I know not when, and I know not where
I briskly greeted you, I know not why.
When we sat and spoke about I know not what
I thought you resembled a person but I know not who.
Our meeting aroused in me something, though I know not what.
Hence we laughed it off, made plans to meet again at I know not where.
I went to a landmark but I remember not where
And I stood there waiting for something but I know not what.
You presented yourself to me at the landmark, I know not how.
And we sat down to think about I know not what when I remembered I know not who
And our meeting (the second) that evoked in me feelings of which I know but nothing
Came but to another short-lived end.
And then on that lonely night when I left you and headed for I know not where
To meet with I know not who,
I remembered you, who's face reminded me of I know not what, where or who
I thought for a moment about I know not what, and again sensed a feeling...
...But I know not what.
I turned, to run back to I know not where, to a landmark, to forsake I know not who
And to take pride in my decision to be with a person,
But I know not why, and I know not who...
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
And I reach out for the earth that holds us
The budded petals of heated May
Have not the flushed glow
Of your countenance;
Nor does the image in a twilight-dew
Copy the likeness of your splendor.
Glowworms brushing the mist,
Tell once more
The tale of your verve.
And winded prairies vie frantically
For a stint of your attention.
The day grows older,
The subtle night, juvenile.
But the air bristled stems
Reach out for naught
Tonight.
Light has lived
and died
upon me once more.
The night is thoughtful
Of my tenderness.
And then the screams commence.
My heart wails
As my mind quiver's
To the memory
of our prior promised love.
Tinged with a glistening dew of tomorrow's dues
I wake from my slumber to find you near.
Nature's tear befalls in my eye
as it tries to mimic
the feat of your sight.
I smile with the breeze
and in an instant
extend my being to join yours.
The light is coming
and I shall see you soon.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
oh child you're persistent
The waves flap at his feet
Pushing him away.
The wind blows against his fragile breast
Pushing him down.
Asserting himself to his feet
The sand he throws at the enemy
Flies back at him.
Beaten, subdued,
He cries.
Nature laughs
Admiring once again
The growth of a child.
Witnessing yet again
The defeat of a mortal.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
Untitled#3
A blind veiled woman, sitting by a well.
Scattered sands on earth stay put.
The beetle, truth of its existence tells.
A drop of water befalls
And in missing a mouth completely,
The thirst of earth it quenches.
The blind veiled woman raises both forgiving arms
To a sky she's only been counseled of.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
Today's Viola
You are the last rhyme in a troubled poet's mind.
You are the universal word that hums my songs unheard.
You are the ink that produces this,
The donor that deduces 'i'.
You are the girl that held the door as I absented.
You are that same girl that prayed for me secretly.
You are the paper plane that amazes me to this day.
You are the pride of life.
When rhymes were scarce and words were scant,
You sang and eased our time on earth.
When my back I gave, not even did you sigh.
When my planes refused to fly
You were there to teach me yet again
The art of flight.
When Faith lingered at my door
You reminded me of our Father's abode.
When the sharpness of light cut me
You turned off the light
Held my hand
And healed my wound.
It is you who has stood with me through it all
Even tomorrow.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
Untitled#4
Knowing you to know myself
Giving you gives back to i
I've learned to love. I've loved love's hand
'tis you to me as i to you
through musky scents and murky dust
still we squint and drive and hearken
that which yearns for the sight of you
that thing, my breast
'tis your air that helps me rest.
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
Untitled#5
i writ for i writ you for i
writ for this i writ for you
for that for which i writ for
i love what i writ for 'tis you
that i writ
-Copyright � A.R. Khani
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