Sands Poem by Fazli Sameer

SANDS

I set foot on the sands of the Arabian Gulf
In Nineteen Seventy Nine;
The sands, since then, have swallowed me up,
And consumed all of my time;
My time has been spent, in work and in prayer,
Through the warm Arabian Nights;
The nights have exploded and lifted me up,
To wondrous towering heights.

The streets are all paved with 24K Gold,
In the mystic Middle East;
The Gold is so pure, spreading an array,
Of a gala sumptuous feast;
The feasts are so many and time has so sweetly,
Played on my favorite song;
The love songs of life, that keep on singing,
Moving me on and on.

The nights are lit up, from the skies above,
By a million or more stars;
The twinkling stars that shine out of the dark,
Are like watchful eyes from Mars;
The eyes that peer ‘neath black silk veils,
Of sweet and charming faces;
The faces of fortune, in oil rich sands,
Of sleek and flowing graces.

How many times have I left these sands,
To return and roost back home;
But the sands keep calling, luring me back,
To its great mosques and domes;
The domes that keep shining, reflecting the warmth,
Of the sizzling noon day sun;
The sun that keeps rolling, simmering the sand,
Around, almost everyone.

A Home away from home, is what I’ve found,
In these hot and burning sands;
The sands of time, that have kept me so close,
To these wonderful Arabian Lands;
The land of Prophets and a great belief,
That one man toiled and taught;
A teacher so mighty that none could defeat,
Even though, they, in vain fought.

Let me rest beneath the burning sand,
When my day is over and done;
Let my day be near, so I can lay my head,
Beneath the scorching sun;
Le the sun shine bright, through all of time,
In this beautiful bounteous land;
Let the land flourish and grow on to become,
A heaven on earth so grand.

(Ministry of Defence, Seeb Camp, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman 1992)