The Goddess
Ayman
The Goddess
Comely, alive,
Evoker of memories.
Gliding past my window
Muttered tones so sweet.
Psychedelic garments
Flashback to dreams.
Speaking in Shelta,
All is not quite what it seems.
Renounce, surrender,
No more maudlin times in need.
Hurly-burly mischief making
The goddess will not feed
As she follows me closely
Through the fjords of my heart
Gathering firewood for the soul
Its knowledge she'll impart.
Scorching, burning...
Flambé my inconsistencies
Then intoxicate with love,
Take me to the mesosphere
A pilgrimage above.
Where earthbound before too long
And in the coldness of space
With the chivalry of angels
She'll sprinkle moondust on my face.
John Hobbs
Access: PublicSolitude
Ayman
Retrace those steps that led you to
A shelter carved in rock
Where you sit and wait and contemplate
No ticking and no clock.
Up so high where preachers sigh
At the earth spread out beneath
The heart belongs to one who comes
In darkness like a thief.
Solitude and breathing build
A soul that stands alone
While kindled flames in time will fade
Like paintings left on stone.
Of course the chief reason for
A life that’s lived like this
Is the struggle for innocence
And betrayal through a kiss.
The boatman who left you at
The bottom of this cliff
Reminds you of your mother who
Longed for more than this.
As solitude is just a way
To avoid assorted truths
That fight for time inside your mind
While you play fast and loose.
With love you may return to earth
Marry and conform
And men who wait in caves alone
Must somehow be reborn.
John Hobbs
The Miracle
Ayman
The Miracle
Woodcutter on the prairie
Shepherd of lost hearts.
Blacksmith in the foundry
Where transformation starts.
Love is in the bread
Washed down with dark red wine.
The roots and rocks
The seed that falls
The stretching out of time.
The message and the sacrifice
A storm to ease the pain.
The father son relationship
The two like wind and rain.
Fishermen leave the shoals
Abandon friend and foe.
To spread the word
Across the earth
Where paupers seldom go.
Miracles and settlers
Conflict and surprise.
The lame are healed
The blind can see
Through newly opened eyes.
The modern day
A city prays
For guidance and for gain.
For what was lost
Upon the cross
Sweet mastery of pain.
John Hobbs
Job's Comforter
Ayman
Job's Comforter
Limitless, the test unravels
The helmsman steers
I look dishevelled.
Jazzy days are long since passed
Dreams implode
The die is cast.
Loveless man or paramour
Sixth sense screams
I must endure.
Subterfuge, I play mind games
The war paint runs
Things stay the same.
The lance is sharp, the horse a mare
I turn and run
Without a care.
Back at sea the jetsam floats
The captain frail
I'm on the ropes.
Defame the weak, the cruel men say
Baltic nights
And darkened days.
The cyclone calls, the mast is shattered
Don't comfort Job
That's all that matters.
John Hobbs
Mapping Out the Moon
Ayman
Mapping Out the Moon
Fragments of a past life
In a niche in my mind
Offer me glimpses
Of what I have left behind.
I navigate through worship
And nature holds my hand
The mazarine sky
Glances at the land.
I struggle on the Way
Like a child in the dunes
Merging with the stars
And mapping out the moon.
The cruciferous flower
In the garden of my soul
Offers Earth devotion
And the strength to make me whole.
I'm talking as a layman
Inward I must flow
But hold on to my shelter
Bliss will come and go.
John Hobbs
Elements of Diana
Ayman
Symptoms of despair
The taunts made you dye.
From blonde to brown
Reborn by the masses
On that fateful day.
Now I find you on the Path of Love
A personality reborn,
Indeed your very soul.
I take on your suffering
And relationship scars.
The fragile heart mourns
With the onset of grace.
That blurry cortège on your wedding day,
A journey of courage.
Our swan in transition,
And a nation stirred into Being.
Behold,
Love,
Behold,
A scar on the heart of the righteous.
John Hobbs
The Cube
Ayman
The Cube holds a key
To dissolve a firm cold heart.
To lead you into mystery
And the fire that is Love.
It stands there with ornament
A black stone and a shroud
And people come from far and wide
To circle round and round.
The gold script is in Arabic
And the Cube is tall and strong.
The Ka’ba is the place
Where men cry
And come undone.
So when you reach the Cube of Life
Say a prayer and bow your head
For the souls that came before you
On the same Path you were led.
In the desert you have time enough
To pray, and fast and love,
Take pity on the poor, the lost
And call the One above.
Yes, the Ka’ba holds a secret
That shatters time and space
It breaks and tramples hearts so bleak
And puts them in their place.
In time you will be leaving
With Allah deep inside
People of the living God
Who always will provide.
John Hobbs
Thorns and Roses
Ayman
Thorns and Roses
She smashed my begging bowl
Impaled me on her sword
She occupied my thoughts
Left me far from bored.
She stole my belongings
Beat me in a race
Crept up behind me
Put her hands across my face.
She burnt down my shelter
Chopped up all my clothes
Cut me with a thorn
And then offered me a rose.
She laughed at all my fears
Poked fun at my beliefs
Looked me in the eye
Where the lonely one grieves.
She placed me on a bonfire
Did away with all that's passed
My Teacher on the Path
My ship, my sail, my mast.
John Hobbs
In Awe of May
Ayman
In Awe of May
In awe of May
And reluctant prophets,
I call on Ali...
Crawl into the mind of God.
63 years...
Ring any bells?
A Shi'a dreams
As children capture the aroma
Of betrayed petals
And the stench
Of another lonely suicide.
A desert fire...
Extinguish me Ocean
Joviality burnt out...
Rain for Najaf?
John Hobbs
Sabbath Days
Ayman
The nomad in me
Longs to drink
From the well
That lifts my soul.
To taste the water
Deep inside
From the earth
Far down below.
But something of
The king in me
Likes comfort
And fine wine
And company
From society
To pass
The summertime.
Will I ever know
The pain of love
For a prophet
Long since gone?
Or shelter in
The harmony
That springs
From Evensong?
As Sabbath days
Are just another
Pleasure
To delight
A ‘monarch’ who
In spite of hope
Finds faith
A distant sight.
John Hobbs
August 2008 