Friday 12 November 2010

Outside, Inside

A sad love curls around me
like a cat with no name,
I knit on into the darkness.

When the wind howls without,
and my feet stay within,

I bow low into the darkness.

Just a quiet prayer
on a winter breeze
to the homeless body and soul;
Just a merciful thanks
on nights like these
for the warmth of a roof
and the snug of a bed;
while over by the River Cam,
just the evening star lies ahead.

Lamp lit, soul lit,
still the sad love persists,
so I bow deeper
into the darkness.

- Shaista Tayabali, 2010

I dedicate this poem to my friend Jonny Butterworth, who is a Human Rights campaigner, and has just set up an NGO called Just Fair, promoting justice and fairness through economic, social and cultural rights for everyone in the UK. ESCR are relatively new to the UK, and Jonny is campaigning for their direct incorporation into UK law.

poem participating in One Stop Poetry
image: 'Down and Out in Cambridge', John Glover, Cambridge Drawing Society Exhibition

11 comments:

mermaid gallery said...

you make me aware of human suffering...it is ..it is...

Lydia said...

A wondrous work.

You came so strongly into my mind today while I was at my doctor's office for a flu shot. Isn't it strange how the blogosphere has created a space for considering those we would not know otherwise, and, in fact, do not "know" in the sense of the word as it existed before the internet?

Cinquefoil said...

Beautiful. Thank you.

The Blog of Bee said...

You captured the sadness and the hopelessness beautifully.

riz said...

really good. better and better. absolutely loving the writing!!

Ruth said...

Bless you for this.

The poem is beautiful, with nuance and just the perfect specificity in that River Cam. Those lines ... while over by the River Cam, / just the evening star lies ahead... move me so much and are placed just at the right spot.

As always, these lines reflect your beautiful heart, and that is the shining. Isn't it nice that you can do that? :)

One Stop - The Place For Poets, Writers and Artists said...

a wonderfully written poem....and i checked out your friends cause...well done and good luck..lets not distract from the poem though...we did a feature on homeless recently and this would have been a great link...thanks for sharing with OSW...pete

Shashidhar Sharma said...

A wonderful work.. I enjoyed it so much... thanks.

ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
Twitter: @VerseEveryDay
Blog: http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com

Steve Isaak said...

Familiar scenario, ably limned out.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Such a beautiful, beautiful poem.

Almas Kiran Shamim said...

this is such a touching poem...

:)


good luck to your friend :)

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