God Lovers

God Lovers
magnify each crack
of light in night’s monotony,
arouse the dawn,
intone: Allah, Allah from the wooden bench.

God Lovers

graze camels on la illaha il’Allah,
water vast herds with life-giving sound,
drizzle it across
an afternoon sun nothing is new under.

The grit and zeal of God Lovers
bring Zaynab to tears. She
feeds them her own modest supper.

Dhikr and the desert air at nightfall
oversee and instruct the darkness.

God Lovers
don’t stop for anything. The angels
hold hands with them night and day;
so said Muhammad, and someone
wrote it down.

~Tamam Kahn


Contributed by Gary O'Connor