I met her because I took an interest in her daughter. She befriended me because she felt I was unique. I cultivated the friendship because no-one like her had ever bothered with me before. She died because the cancer finally won. For me, the loss was staggering. This ghazal was written shortly after her death.
Evanescence
In memory of Yvonne Sligh
In the place where I pay homage to the night
I pled your case to stars that strew the night.
From this mountaintop I prayed for you to heal,
In tandem fell two bold stars through the night.
I, too, had walked on that shadow’s edge before
And knew you as another who knew the night.
Your journey along the shadow’s edge was long,
Then your strength gave out and on you drew the night.
Maybe your soul was healed instead of your form
That we are left in your wake to rue the night.
Now in silence on that mountaintop I gaze
On blurring stars where long I view the night.
Stars reflect in the well-spring of my soul;
I sought a friend, but was left in lieu the night.
Was it your essence in the wind that whispered,
“I’m not lost, Zahhar,” as languid grew the night?
This is my 70th ghazal.
Publication History:
The Ghazal Page (web-based) — August 2003
