I have seen goodness from destiny, my God,
And I live awaiting more goodness still. With my prayer forever surging in my heart,
Poetry
Poems by Akrom Malik, newest first. Pick one for your mood.
Perhaps on a cold, yellow autumn day I put forth buds
and spread my palm like a beggar asking for a golden coin. Like a man going off to war who takes death upon his neck,
My age has passed thirty-five by a year,
The chemistry of youth has waned in my frame. Once the body could not hold its fire — it overflowed,
In this world there are many kinds of wonder,
Plain is the not-knowing of many who claim to know. Forever glimpsing the truth all of a sudden,
My God, never make the child of Adam
Base and worthless and ungrateful. The wretches who have clung to Satan
All is peaceful, all is serene,
There is no strife, no corruption seen. But once the crowd of the ignorant comes,
My eyes were blind, were blind completely,
I put my trust in someone I thought great. I called his words both right and true,
If someone has left you, perhaps to you
Some good has come — so stop burning with grief. But those who left, now rid of you,
Someone left, without a word, in silence,
They abandoned you as if they'd buried you dead. As if you alone were left unhappy,
Thank you, my thanks to you,
My love to you, O gentle Time! Slowly, slowly you set me free,
You have entered a blessed court,
May your step be blessed! You have come to know its worth —
Make me free, released from the ego's goading,
Fill my heart with light until it brims and overflows. So that I may not see the faults of others,
Wherever you may walk, the sea will come,
The face of the earth is wrapped in water whole. Love always comes as twin to toil and pain,
Remembering you, I swallowed blood, alas,
Spitting blood, I passed through days of gloom. My heart in torment turned as black as pitch,
The green fruit has its dwelling on the branch,
The seed's abode is down beneath the earth. Who leaves his place in hope of fame and glory
When someone said, “I love you,”
She believed it as a child. And no wonder she saw herself,
Much is the praise and description of a friend,
A friend is like a glowing ember in your heart. But let no frost settle upon your thinking —
I trusted you, but there were doubts within you,
I came to you freely, and your dogs were set loose in your street. It was never in my plans that one day you'd betray me,
We said out loud: let girls be accomplished,
Let them support themselves and never be in need. Let them live free of hardship, merry and carefree,
I've heard your heart grows troubled when I come,
That you don't like to see my face at all. That at the feasts of others you are cheerful,
There's not a day I don't remember you,
There's not a night I don't think of you. No moment passes without remembering you,
At times I was heedless, at times my senses were with me,
At times my friend was faithful, at times an ill-omened friend. To bow my neck to You, to bend before You —
Hello, little boy! Have you come again?
I know about each time you come to me. Have you understood this truth full well —
If everything that's found is bound to be lost,
What aim, what gain, what profit is there in finding?! Find that which is not lost, O heart,