Author: Mariam Ahmed

Mariam Ahmed is a California poet. She currently lives in San Diego, CA while she pursues her Masters in Fine Arts for Creative Writing with a concentration in Poetry.

MAP 19

Qismat قسمت

Quiet storms linger
In these lines
So still, so fortunate
Moons cradle
A prayer
That becomes your lullaby

Souls of my feet / Dance with
ancient bedrock / While sweet
salty oceans / Run alongside /
in my blood / Stars of my eyes
/ See into infinite space / Spiraling cellular mysteries /
Threading through my bones

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MAP 18

Pani پانی

Pure rocks in the river
are gently washed by
New hands as they sink
into the sand

Drop / or dribble / a droplet /
into / a lake — wait / for still
waters / to see / reflections / of
light / as they slide / across /
the water / like an endless
painting / then breathe / again

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MAP 17

Ojhal اوجھل

Opal wisps pull me from my
Jubilous slumber-verse; as my
Heels touch the ground and my senses
Awaken I am reminded that
Love exists in my dreams

disappear / like vapor /
suspended/ in the air / you / on
my mind / for an hour / or
maybe / just a minute / and in
the morning / all dull / ache /
and alone / as I unveil / this
new / beginning

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MAP 16

Naseeb نصیب

Newfound wonders
As yesterday lingers
Seeking hope, soaking in
Every promise
Every laugh, waiting for unexpected
Beginnings

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MAP 15

Mehsoos محسوس

My fingertips roam
Eternal
Hard rain falling down
Soft metal rooftops

Our memories powerful
Our touches accepting
Speak to me

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MAP 13

Khwaab خواب

Kempt cloth surrounds me
Holy messages made of my
Waking life
as light
as matter
Believe me

Little dream, little feeling
Little talk, little meeting,

A little in all of life
Like every time, it happens now

At some point
Our caravan stopped,

Looking for someone
It remained empty,

I won these moments
No dream fulfilled,

We came to the bend and
I realize that it’s unfinished every time,

Neither dream nor weave
A sieve, we live, every feeling incomplete

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MAP 12

Jangal جنگل

Juniper trees under stratus clouds
Azure and lavender across uncut plains
Nettle leaves settled below moving boughs
Grateful blooms sprout through soil
And flowing sunlight peppered by shadows
Long after the air stills

When I explored
the muddled woods
I was lost in
the tall trees

I was moving
slowly
as a stranger

witnessing
myself clearly
from above

In search of something
soft and delicate
I found
the river of poetry

with its
soft, silky flowers
of gratitude
blooming there

They were
transforming
this wilderness
into the garden of heaven.

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MAP 11

Ishq – عشق

Intrinsic desires tell me our
Souls have met before. Destiny wrote our
Hearts together but when I see you why do I
Quiver

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MAP 10

Hamaysha ہمیشہ

How curious that footprints
Are the only mark of
My earthly existence
As they’re swept away by
Years of rain
So tell me —
Have you seen any being live beyond its
Age?

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