to the scarborough buskers *

You fiddle dancers, happy chancers,
Tune your way into my dreams!
Uproarious sound bombards my senses,
Unraveling my tight-stitched seams.

And I was just a passerby, and
Smooth the day dressed as the night
Deceiving me with sticks and strings;
Street-corner wings in sudden flight.

What could I see on the street that day,
Feet tapping to cement and clay?
What could I fear in merry chimes
That moved your whiskey blood to climb?

You bellow with Brittanic sea
And flooding southern melody,
Distract me from a day gone wrong,
Envelope me in zydefolk song.

time

Time is attacking me,
I feel it’s displeasure like an enemy

Always chasing me home at night
After me at morning in the harsh daylight

Yet when I turn to catch a glimpse
It hides its face, I have to wince

I dare not look it in the eye
To see eternity’s measured cry

small

She sits so small on the bank at night
She bathes in all the pale moonlight
Reflecting from the river shine
To wrap her in a frail time

So small she sits, and small she stands
Her figure making shadows dance
She drinks in butterflies and love
She leaps to rhythms from above

Peace fills her in the silver moon
It weaves her in a soft cocoon
She hums a soothing lullaby
And feels so small under the sky

monument street jasmine

The sweet smell of jasmine wafts so fair. I make love with the night air.

My muscles flinch and move and burn. My whole body sways in turn.

Singing crickets climb this mountain. They flood my senses like a fountain.

My lips curl to a soaring smile. They make me want to stay a while.

The black above is shattered bright with fireflies and airplane light.

Not far below the ocean sways, and carries jasmine in its sprays.

And I will carry jasmine, too. Long after this dear night is through.

I’ll fly to you across the seas, wings drenched in its enchanted breeze.

some days *

Yesterday I roamed the earth
Like a traveler gone too long
Like an unfinished song
Like a river without a bank
And I sank

Lastnight I fell asleep
With an ocean in my eye
With a broken-hearted sigh
With a shrinking in my skin
And I gave in

Today I awoke
From my butterfly cocoon
Like a newborn from its womb
Like a turtle from its shell....
And I am well.

أمل

Little girl with broken wings
Walking down a cluttered street;
There's rubbish lying everywhere,
A foul scent hanging in the air.

Little girl I heard the laugh
You stifled as you shuffled past
The cafes filled with evil eyes
That suck the starlight from the skies.

Little girl with veiled hair,
Veiling with it all your cares;
In painted veils of silk and linen,
You join processions of hidden women.

Little girl, you hope and dream
And wish for many lovely things
But you're secure in the ribat,
How can I spare you from your lot?

follow the star, a christmas song

Verse 1
Happy Christmas, wherever you are
Near or far, following the footprints of the star
And it will lead you there
And I will meet you there
Under a shining beam, of hope

A Happy Christmas of treasures untold
Not of frankincense, myrrh or gold
But it will catch your eye
Released in a baby's sigh
In a quiet song, of hope

Chorus:
Follow the star, follow heaven's fire
Follow the star, hear the angels choir
Follow, follow the star...

Verse 2
A Happy Christmas, come one come all
Come and kneel at this lowly manger stall
Come and kiss the King
Cease your wandering
On this silent night, of hope

Bridge:
Follow, follow your starlit path
Follow, follow and don't look back
A Happy Christmas, wherever you are