Friday, April 24
This post was provided by Lauren Morton
Afternoon Prayer: Reflection on Ramadan
by Taylor Lawson
Taylor Lawson is the SAT/ACT Test Prep Instructor at Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School.
Untitled
by Ramy Eletreby
The new moon peeks behind the shadow
As will we
This holy month of Ramadan
We will step into the light
These next 30 days and nights
To expel our darkness
Bulbs we burnt out
These past 11 months
We now recharge, we reignite
Now, we make the choice
To surrender, to give ourselves up
And over to the fast
We abstain
From nourishment, from foolishness
To quiet our ego
That which ties knots
Tight and stubborn
Where they needn’t be
We let the fast work its magic
We lose ourselves
So that we may feel ourselves
Is that a contradiction?
Only in words
Which mean less now
We listen rather than speak
We recognize that silence
Is truly golden like the sun
Upon which we synchronize
Our clocks and our bodies
Our beginnings and our endings
We wait for the azaan
Its crying melody
To pierce the hushed night
Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar
La Ilaha ila Allah
We begin the fast
Then there’s silence
Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar
La Ilaha ila Allah
We break the fast
Then there’s sound
We seek community
The oil that helps
Loosen our knots
We gather together
We pray together
We nourish together
We unravel ourselves
To reveal ourselves
Like threads
Dangling
Weightless
Like fringes
Softly swaying
In the breeze
Click HERE to access Taz Ahmed's "Poetry-A-Day for Ramadan" website.