Is It Better To Speak Or To Lisren? Poem by Mohammad Younus

Is it better to speak or to listen?
I've pondered this question,
turned it over in my palms,
disassembled and reassembled it.
No matter how I turn it,
I see—
it is better to listen.

Why live, if not to fill life
with its truest meaning?
Why hide in shadows,
let God pass by, singing—
while I remain stone,
deaf, dumb, and blind?

Listen, and do not speak,
when God is singing.
Until death makes it vivid,
the song plays on,
inevitable—
even beyond death,
when God is seen,
marching toward me.

Listen,
as if today is the last day.
Listen,
as if it will always be the last day.
The Song of Life—
sung by God Himself.
I hear it now,
as I did on the Day of Alast.
Tried to turn it off—failed.
It plays on, eternal.

Every note—
a memory of Alast.
I tried to sing along,
knew the words by heart,
but my voice was gone.
When the chorus rose,
only Your song remained.

The rhythm carried me,
transported to another place—
a happier time,
when I stood in God's presence.
It's been so long.
How could I not be whole,
listening to this song of life?

How does it break me,
again and again—
that beautiful song?
Oh, I wished it would never end.
And when it did,
I wiped the tears from my eyes—
and saw—
I am both singing and listening.
I am the song.
I am the truth.
I am the truth.

MyKoul