Khalid Mukhtar

Word, like wind, cuts through you / Withers all but true you

Khalid Mukhtar

Little Safa And The Wild Strawberry

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Have you ever been around
When little Safa has to share
Something exquisite she found
When she does, she does declare

“Let me show you, let me show you
It’s a wild strawberry.” How
Can a creature with a heart resist
This brand of cuteness now

So she cuts through the petunias
Then backs away a bit
‘Round the table, past the sandbags
This is not a time to sit

"Let me show you, come I’ll show you”
That’s my shadow on her heels
And we’re weaving through the frontage
To a patch among the weeds

“There it is” she points her finger at
A berry red and bold
In the world of wild strawberries
THIS WAS WILD STRAWBERRY GOLD

So we stood there in amazement
Oohed beneath unclouded skies
Till I went and took her picture
As she squinted in surprise
By her wild strawberry prize

Scent of Taufīq

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When change comes upon you
Because of a prayer
It moistens the heart
And perfumes the air

That later when you knock
On memory’s door
You only remember
The sweet petrichor

To Fathers Everywhere, Stressing About Their Children

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Take your anguish and pain
And set down your load
For the journey is long
On this merciless road 

And be selfish in ways
You haven’t before
So selfish the angels
Approve of the score 

Turn the battles you’ve lost
Into booty you’ve won
Take a breath and forgive
Just forgive everyone

Start with those whom you love
Though they can’t tell you do
For they haven’t a clue
What they’re doing to you

Yes, I’m talking about
Your children my friend
Allah gave them to you
To be yours till the end 

But be selfish, yes, selfish
And give them a kiss
On the cheek with a smile
For there isn’t a bliss
 
That compares to the feeling
When you’re in a bind
With your Maker and respite
Is nowhere to find
 
But then ease from some quarter
Has come to your side
Your child shed a tear
For you who have died
 
What a prayer that is
How it rises from hands
To be kissed by the angels
And how it expands
 
Till it reaches the One
Who awaits it with pleasure
Who adds to it from
His own love with no measure
 
One moment you’re shaking
With terror and fright
And the next one you’re making
Celestial flight
 
So be selfish, yes, selfish
It’s Friday my man
So be selfish just once
And go through with this plan
 
Sure, your children have troubles
The craziest kind
They’re trapped in these bubbles
They’re falling behind
 
But now they too are human
And need their own space 
They possess equal access
To harness His Grace 

Just leave them to journey
And pay their own toll
But you, you be selfish
And coddle your soul
 
Mend fences, these bonds
Are signs they’ll be needed
When your time on this earth
Is fully depleted
 
Your body to earth
And soul in its grave
Be selfish, yes, selfish
And grateful a slave

Gifts

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There’s so much to be grateful for
If only we slow down
To see the blessing wrapped in hues
Of verdant green and brown

Heeding

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If in this expedition you are on
You find someone who understands your soul
Be sure to heed their thoughts before they’re gone
Lest all your heedlessnesses take a toll

This understanding comes to those who will
Their time toward aligning heart and mind
While heeding is a fundamental skill
That comes by will and honesty combined

Seek knowledge recognizing its effect
On knowledge that refines the intellect

Exert

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Obsess with doing all you can
Then leave the outcome be
A blessed intersection of
Effort and destiny

Believe when your effort includes
Your hands raised up in prayer
That they by every sense you lack 
Return laden with khayr

Rancorous

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Don't let your rancor
Lead you astray
Until you see
The night as day

Let cool submission 
Dispel the clouds
And warm repentance
Return them gray

Till Rahmah reigns

lub dub

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Stop looking for signs, khalid
What signs do you need
While your heart keeps on beating
To the drum of tauhīd

There’s only One Master
Of a soul that is freed
By a heart that keeps beating
To the drum of tauhīd