I Have Seen All And None

By Mory Keita

A singing bird perched on a tree,

A furious beast hurling its fury,

A burning arrow striking a corpse,

I have seen all and none.

I sit emotionless, faceless like a puppet,

Observing the moving hands of the clock,

“Damn it, too slow” my patience boils,

My thought wanders in the seven heavens.

I cry of ecstasy, dance and jump of pain.

I chuckle and sing of rage to this unruly slow clock.

I roar my fury like a lion as I see slaughters;

Each tick-tock brings back memories.

These barren memories flux through my intoxicated mind;

My speech is flame, my sight is horror.

Blind, heartless savage, why dost thou speak to me?

I am the death you fear, waiting at the corner;

I am a viper, calm as aggressive;

I am a bloodsucking mosquito,

 --Sucking the last drops of your miserable existence.

Patience, love, misery, fertility and life,

I have seen all and none.

I have seen wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

I have seen a people ravaged by war and famine.

I have experienced cruelty from Nazis, Slurs from ignorant folks.

I have seen terrorists plotting against peace.

I have seen all and none.

Why dost thou hate me?

I am Jew, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist.

I am Marxist, capitalist and communist.

I am black, white, Asian and Native American.

There is no mirror in my heart,

My vision is colorless, thus I do not discriminate.

Why dost thou wish to divide?

I have seen all and none.

I have seen patriots dying to preserve freedom and liberty,

I have seen selfless teachers willing to help at any moment.

I have seen mothers consoling their children, prophets of peace and love.

I have seen tenders eyes second to none.

Hatred, greed and stereotypes, do not approach my heart;

Do not corrupt my sight.

I Have Seen All And None

When the Rose is gone

By Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Balkh ( Rumi)

When the rose is gone and the garden faded
you will no longer hear the nightingale's song.
The Beloved is all; the lover just a veil.
The Beloved is living; the lover a dead thing.
If love withholds its strengthening care,
the lover is left like a bird without care,
the lover is left like a bird without wings.
How will I be awake and aware
if the light of the Beloved is absent?
Love wills that this Word be brought forth

When the Rose is gone

My heart is like a star

                                                      By Mory Keita

My heart is like a star, brighter that Sirius.

Its light illuminates this dull world,

Like sun shine upon us at dawn.

When my heart shall be broken,

The stars shall shatter like broken mirror

And darkness shall envelope this world.

Without my love there is no love,

Without my light there is no light,

And without light, night shall lonely sleep.

O heart, what is this world without light?

My heart is a star perched above clouds.

When the stars shall shatter, my heart shall break.

But, as long as Sirius and its companion shine,

My love shall always illuminate this dull world

My heart is like a star

Bleeding heart.

                       

 By Mory Keita

Am blind, deaf or dead? O sweet love.

Dost thou exist in pure hearts? O wistful thinking.

Will thou ever shine ere my end? O heart-breaker.

Shall I pierce my soul with this blade? O quixotic madness.

Shall I run from thee forever? O courier of pain.

Gallantry and flattery speak not for me:

Ages crumble from the ancient ruin of time,

And passion vanishes into oblivion.

Now, I thy loyal servant, who traversed the desert,

Defied  mother nature’s will to come to thou,

Stand proudly before thou to declare my love:                                       

Gentle lords and ladies of sacred Olympus,

Here is my sunbeam, commander of my desires, my love.

Behold! How her grins are enchanting,

Beware! They're more fatal than the kisses of Medusa.

Love! What a strange word are thou?

I wish I had never known or heard of thou.

But alas mortals’ hearts are vulnerable to emotions.

Tho’ I breathe, breathing is but unsustainable pain,

And tho' I eat, feeding is but mere distraction from pain.

O harsh, heartless pain, is thou name love?

Or is thou synonym of affection?

My heart bleeds, my soul morns my lost.

A bleeding heart is but eternal damnation.

Thus, Dammed be love and its vain emotions.

Bleeding heart.

To Annie, my heart

   

                                                                 By Mory Keita

You ask, “do you love me?”

Yes, I love you with love,

Like I sing with birds,

Write with my pen.

I love you as I love your name;

Why must everything be wordily?

You ask, “do you dream of me?”

I love you but I do not dream of you,

For dreams are ephemeral.

You ask, “do you think of me?”

No, you hold no place in my thoughts,

For thoughts are vain like wind.

Again, you ask, “do we have a future?”

Maybe, I do not gamble with God.

Let us colorfully enjoy the present now.

Now you will ask, “Is there a place for me?”

Aye, you hold a place in my heart.

For my heart is with you and you with me.

I love you with my heart  and my heart is eternal.

To Annie, my heart