Sufism And The Skinny Old Horse Poem by nadia abduljabbar

Sufism And The Skinny Old Horse



As I was walking by
"Al Hamra" sea shore,
I saw a skinny old horse
Pulling a Cinderella like
Carriage, and is led by
A thin young boy,
There and then
I could not but stop both:
The boy and the horse;
I reproached the boy
For not feeding
The horse well,
And for forcing
Him to work as well,
Tears dropped from both;
The horse‘s and the boy's
Eyes. The tears were dripping
Like rain,
I felt like crying too.
Yet, my reason
Was so different;
It was sympathy,
Not huger, poverty,
Or even pain.
The boy blamed me for
Saying tender words that
Caused the horse to cry,
And so confused was I,
For I did not know
With whom should I
Sympathize more:
The horse or the boy!

I sided with the horse,
Because he could not
Express his feelings
And what caused his pain.

That I felt for an animal,
As I feel for Man,
Made me wonder whether
Am I a Sufi or not?
And what kind of a Sufi
Am I, if I could define?
Myself as such?
And what does
My Attitude in life follow,
If it was not hollow
From meaning target,
And philosophy as well.
If I ever belong to Sufism,
Then, what kind of Sufism
Do I belong to?
Sufism has many a definition,
But no particular definition
Is that definite yet:
A Sufi is supposed to be
A person who
Belongs to people
Who worship Allah or God?
Out of love before fear:
If a Sufi is a person who
Wears wool, I am not a Sufi,
For I am allergic to wool,
And I live in a hot country,
Or rather a region,
That its people rarely
Need to wear wool.
If Sufism means to wear
A lengthy hat and a big round
White skirt that goes round
And round and round
Again and again and again,
When dancing after being
Enchanted by a spiritual song,
While sitting around a fire
In a desert or any landscape,
I would rather escape
From such a scene,
And this makes me no Sufi
Indeed.
Sufis do not fear
Such a deed, though
They are not fighters,
If Sufism means that one
Loves to visit grave yards
To ask help from the dead,
Then I am certainly not a Sufi.

But if Sufism means belittling
Materialistic things
And abandoning
Worldly pleasures,
Like a hermit,
Then I am a Sufi,
If Sufism means you sing
With birds in the sky,
I am a Sufi,
If Sufism means you let
Your spirit flies with a butterfly,
I am a Sufi,
If Sufism means you feel for
Other creatures as if they were
Human beings, then,
I am certainly a Sufi,
And If Sufism means
Thinking a lot of the day
Of judgment, Oh, then
And only then I can say
I am definitely a Sufi.

10 Nov.2012


editted 15Nov.2012

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