Ramadan Begins
“The poplars shimmer sunlight again
The ceanothus is a cloud of indigo
While an azalea in my garden
Is more hues of magenta than you can imagine
The sun is gentle these long fasting days
Some an endurance test
They still lend me more discipline than I naturally possess
The orchid cascades alabaster blossoms
Over the windowsill in the kitchen
Pots of basil and coriander
Have been snipped a bit thin
To garnish harira and salads
For fast breaking
My son stumbles from bed
To eat suhur bleary eyed
I try to pack enough nutrient dense calories in
To support spiritual and physical growth spurts
And pray for our protection and guidance
In this labyrinthine plane of reality
He’s better at fasting than me
I am insomniac
wide awake in these short nights
Until fajr rolls in
I need to nap
Cat-like in the day
Some manage to pray all night
I just try to survive the ride
Of circadian rhythm disruption
And learn from the alteration
Of feast and famine
Hopeful some of the blessings of the month
Will settle upon me all the same
Part of the miracle
Is the routine breaking
No matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient
Making you view things from a different perspective
creating space for reflection
The brokenness of people and the world assails me some days
There is so much pain and trauma
on the news
woven into the web of relations we are part of
We must be here to alleviate some of this
We must be here as healers
For ourselves and one another
Yet the flowers and trees are perfect
Plane trees unabashed in their majesty
Horse chestnuts resplendent in full candled canopies
Jasmine an explosion of perfumed symmetry
Roses impossibly exquisite
Acers fractal in their colour and delicacy
While clouds tell vast stories across the horizon
The moon is full now, veiled by wispy cloud
Still visible in the coolness of early morning light
In a lull of quiet
before the dawn chorus strikes up
Having measured the days with illumination
It starts to wane again
As days slip away
With the imminent departure
Of our trusted friend
who never fails
to shake us up
And embrace us in blessings”
Magenta by Rabia Saida
Chorlton Unitarians 