The Zejel Trilogy - Three Poems by Amita Sarjit Ahluwalia (Amita Paul)

 

The Zejel Trilogy 

 

A Short Zejel

 

Soft velvet night cool silver moon

Breezes whisper soon the monsoon 

 

Clouds form and vanish form again

Now a brief shower a little rain

Still the pains of summer remain

Breezes whisper soon the monsoon 

 

When the fire-hot midday sun burns 

Koels and rainbirds sing taking turns

Long painful day short evening earns

Breezes whisper soon the monsoon 

 

Sorrows of life waiting for joy 

Ploys of hope and prayer employ

When small comforts begin to cloy

Breezes whisper soon the monsoon 

 

Soft velvet night cool silver moon

Breezes whisper soon the monsoon 

 

 

A Classic Zejel

 

Love poems moved from sand to Spain 

A Moorish caste to Europe’s pain

A plaintive soothing sweet refrain 

 

A name that rang clear as a bell

The Spanish Poetry form Zejel 

Reminiscent of Persia’s ghazal 

Nobody’s loss everyone’s gain 

 

Exotic names for thoughts in rhyme

Ring past the dunes of desert time

Hum through the azure waves saline 

Colours of cultures bleed and stain 

 

When caravans changed into fleets 

When music moved from wilds to streets 

When troubles could turn into treats 

Pearl tears transformed to diamond chain

 

If only we’d let goodness trace

Our sufferings with its gentle grace 

The World would be the loveliest place 

Let love its free beauty retain 

 

Survival of the fittest, yes,

But let us not from soul digress

Let Spirit our endeavours bless 

Let all that’s soul- nourishing remain

 

 

A Jewelled Zejel

 

When love surged like an ocean 

Drowning all earth in emotion

Useless was hate’s bitter potion

 

Then the heart was full of wonder

Ears filled with the sound of thunder 

Petty twigs were soon pulled under 

Everywhere a sweet commotion 

 

When love surged like an ocean 

 

How can artificial preaching 

Replace centuries of teaching 

There’s no question of trust breaching 

Trust that is built of devotion 

 

Useless was hate’s bitter potion 

 

Confidence emerged from fears 

Smiles replaced sorrowful tears 

Everyone is soothed who hears 

How love won over hate’s notion 

 

Drowning all earth in emotion 

 

Useless was hate’s bitter potion 

When love surged like an ocean

Everywhere a sweet commotion

 

Amita Sarjit Ahluwalia is the pen name of Amita Paul, a retired civil servant who is at heart a poet and teacher. She writes , mostly poetry, in English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. She was awarded the NISSIM International Poetry Award 2019 and then the Reuel international Award 2020 for Non- Fiction Prose, while Destiny International Community of Poets UK, declared her Poet of the Year 2020 as well as Critic of the Year 2020, and again in 2021. Women Empowered India declared her their WE Greenheart 2022 jointly with Bengal based poetess Rituparna Khan. Her work has been published in several international anthologies and also in many journals and online magazines such as Das Literarisch, Doaba, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Yugen Quest Review, Setu Bilingual Magazine, GloMag, Fasihi Magazine, and Spillwords, besides twice being among selected featured poems on the global NaPoWriMo Website, once in 2021 and then again recently in 2022.