Shadow Wrapped Beautiful Night Poem by Emdad Shah Emdad

by Emdad Shah

Beside the forest edge a broken moon doth gleam
My lonely, wandering eyes await a distant dream.

The noisy glare of day departs, the river falls asleep
And starry hosts awake to dance upon the azure deep
In drowsy folds of shadow rest the weary travelers all
As night comes drifting down to cast her fathomless thrall.

Beside my window sill I sit in solitude
And gaze upon thy beauty's calm and careless mood
Thou hast invoked the vast, the deep, the infinite untold
And flung wide ope the gates where deathly mysteries hold.

Upon the brow of heaven thousand stars ignite
The silent midnight sings a sweet and tender rite
O weary traveler, hast thou lost thy path to me?
That distant grief dissolves in deep obscurity.

With open, darkening arms I welcome it at last
To wipe away life's weary load and sorrows of the past
Within the quiet soul a poisoned flute doth play
While beauty floats in nets of slumber far away.

Upon the tuberose breath a lonely yearning sighs
And ancient winds awake where memory sleeping lies
The heart would fain return to that familiar shore
While midnight depths bring nameless terrors evermore.

Into the twilight depths where evening hues are shed
The clamor of the day departs with quiet tread
With silent steps descends the calm and dewy night
Her hidden hands ablaze with lamps of starry light.

Whatever now is faded, soiled, or cast away
Let thy dark stream wash clean, and wash the stains of day
O mystic queen, come hide within thy shadows deep
The eternal peace that marks thy quiet forehead's sleep.

Spread wide thy shadowy veil in secret, soft and still
As night approaches now my window-sill
The bustling songs of day, the restless, weary feet
Find here at last a calm and quiet-blessed seat
The universe is mute, in breathless slumber bound
And heavy kohl of sleep on every eye is found.

Slowly and faint the flickering lamp-flame dies
While dark unknowns are penned where shadow lies
There lingers but alone the silver moon above
While my heart calls to some deep, strange, and fearful love.

Deep in the heart's recess unspoken secrets throng
Where memory blends with parting's bitter song
The night comes stealing softly, with a spell upon her eyes
And weaves a magic door where slumber dreaming lies.

Deep, blue, and terrible, the midnight's vast domain
Yet through the fearful town runs joy amid the pain
O moon, upon thy shadow rests the tranquil shore
And blessed is this grieving neighborhood once more.

O gentle Night, at thy sweet, peaceful feet
I yield this soul in meditation sweet
Take all my weariness, my guilt and weary pain
And fill my heart with holy words again
Until I wake to greet the morning light
When golden dawn unbars the doors of night.