Image: © Charles Eastwood
Ya Shaykh
Heaven
Hough End Fields, Manchester, 2020
here, every blade of grass,
every bluetit and blackbird,
grasshopper and tiny ant,
the creeping thistle in summer
the gorse bush and the hairy willowherb,
fireweed and curled wood;
the corn chamomile, the calming tea,
the hailed herb chicory
all are in constant dhikr
the whispers will un-hush themselves.
look to the planes of earth
that have manifested this way
i can no longer resent
the way God made me
heaven will be this undisturbed space:
this patch of green
this left-alone mess,
of foliage and weeds
this uncovered earth—
damp, unbearable, breathtaking—has saved me
____
Maryam Alsaeid is a poet with an MA in Creative Writing, tutored by Carol Ann Duffy and Andrew McMillan, and mentored by Julia Webb. Published in Poetry Ireland, The Phare, Eche and others, she designs workshops using poetry for healing and is writing a collection of poems inspired by Arabic songs.