A Poem by
Abid Parvez Akhter

Lament of the Masjid

A few days after Ramadan, many masjids were seen to cry.
Someone asked one, why?

You ask me why I am so grieved?
It's because I have been deceived.

I ask, Oh Muslim, where have you gone, where are you?
Was the past month a dream? It doesn't seem real or true.

Oh my beloved, was it all a dream, was it all a show?
That is why my tears do flow.

Why don't you visit me, why have you not returned?
From the past month is this what you learned?

My soul is empty without you and also my heart
How can you feel at ease being so far apart?

You are the one, whom the Lord chose for his own remembrance,
So why should I not lament at your absence?

Why do I no longer hold any charm?
From where else will you attain inner peace or calm?

I call you every day but you do not respond
Day by day weakens our bond!

I call you in the day and I call you at night.
What's happened? For sure something's not right

Don't you recognize me anymore? Don't you hear my voice?
Is it deliberate or do you really have no choice?

When will you light me up again? Will I have to wait another year?
Going by past experience, that is what I fear.

*****