soma nestles in a comforting caress on the scalp
pneuma glides bursting into bars of floral tints –
the rose quartz whorl,
the oyster base,
the leafy urn.
like lower-case letters the figments of fancy sediment
onto the waterline of my eyes, now colours shift n’ fly
the tactility of fingertips curling n’ expanding
synchronizing to the beat of my heart
fetching bits of love in the kenopsia of my memory
that childhood moment of tranquility before sleep
that scotophobic me scuttling to my asleep dad
silhouettes of moonlight in the pitch dark room would
come to life chasing me like bloodcurdling zombies
n’ I’d wake him up saying I’m frightened n’ he’d stroke
my head as I’d lie half-curled into myself next to him
His gentle voice reciting:
*مَولا یَ صَلِّ وَسَلِّم دَائِماََ إ بَدََا
عَلٰی حَبِیْبِکَ خَیْرِ الخَلْقِ کُلِّھِمِ.
n’ the rhythm would alight in deep corners of my mind
soothing my veins, giving me goosebumps, I wouldn’t
comprehend much of the Arabic, but the Divinity
of the Kalam would pervade like a scent in my soul,
now all that pleases me is the echo of that tender voice
reciting that Kalam that my ears treasured n’ my heart
shielded with layers of velvet, of opal glass, of argent.
* O’ my Lord, send peace and blessings upon your
Beloved (P.B.U.H.) – the Best of all creations
Hafsa Mumtaz, aged 22, is an emerging Muslim writer from Pakistan, with a bachelor in English Language and Literature. Her poetry has been published in Visual Verse, The Rising Phoenix Review, Women’s Spiritual Poetry, The New Verse News, Poetry Potion, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Terror House Magazine, Ravi Magazine, The Sandy River Review, and has appeared or is forthcoming in Couplet Poetry, and Corvus Review. Her short story that she wrote back in 2020 is available on Reedsy Prompts.