LatinosUSA

The clouds of mist that dissolve into the Jhelum’s skin of light
Are Devis that seek to return to the origin of light.
 
Within a candle's glow Faiz scratches lines from Zindan-Nama
Onto a prison wall that gleams like a bulletin of light.
 
Shahid wrote of how Akhtari clothed notes in her voice's silk,
Of how she sang to him in dreams from a palanquin of light.
 
At night we hear phantoms speaking in shadows, where winds echo
Voices chanting spells that will deprive a djinn of light.
 
Layla still appears in desert gardens with pearls in her hair,
Kneeling to recite prayers before Majnoon's coffin of light.
 
I hear Shahid's voice in my dreams of celestial cities,
Whispering of all that I would come to imagine of light.
 
 
Notes:
Agha Shahid Ali (1949-2001): A Kashmiri-American poet.
Begum Akhtar (1914-1974): A legendary ghazal singer who was known as Akhtari.
Deva: A supernatural being in Hinduism, devi is the female equivalent.
Faiz Ahmad Faiz (1911-1984): A Pakistani ghazal poet.
Jhelum: A river in northern India.
Layla and Majnoon: The central figures in a famous Arabic love story.

 
Copyright © 2025 Steffen Horstmann
All Rights Reserved

Steffen Horstmann’s poems and book reviews have appeared in publications throughout the world, including Baltimore Review, Free State Review, Istanbul Literary Review, Louisiana Literature, Oyez Review, San Antonio Review, Texas Poetry Journal, and Tiferet. He has published two books of ghazals, Jalsaghar (2016) and Ujjain (2017).