Penelope, A Circle Of Love Poem by Sayed Gouda

She said that I would be the only outcast.
For years, I will lose the way home.
In vain, I would blow wind in my sails,
and would come to him,
a stranger on a shore of emptiness.
He would collect in my bag
winds from all the corners
and blow the wind in my sails.
I would fight the waves of devils
and sail on a wave of flame
to offer him a goat, our ransom,
to return to our families,
waiting on the blazing shore of their longing.

Everyday I dream that I return,
stretch my bow that beats the strong men,
clean my yard from the evildoers,
empty the longing of my long nights
on her lips,
and pour into her ears
some divine words.

She is Penelope:
The soul's joy in salvation
when the circles are complete:
The circle of love
when it turns into worship;
the circle of eternity
when the final beam departs;
the circle of death,
and the circle of resurrection.
For her, the journey of the soul begins.
For her, it ends.

She is Penelope:
A Ka'ba of pride when pride bows down,
humble, like a lover to his beloved;
a brook of milk,
and branches of light and perfume,
in whose shade the nightingales sing.

She is Penelope:
Like a prophet's intercession,
a reward to him
who is lost in her love.
Everyday I dream that I return
in spite of Heaven telling me
that I will be the only outcast!

20 September 2006