POETRY:  The Stars and the Moon *
Posted Jul 20, 2007

POETRY:  THE STARS AND THE MOON

Stephenie Bushra Khan

The moon is like my mother
When she spreads her silver blanket upon me
She has taken my lonely head within her hands
She has comforted my soul
Outside, she paints the world in ethereal colors
In which the spirits of goodness walk
Beneath a curtain of glittering stars
The stars and the moon move
In their certain paths of purity
In the manner which Allah has ordained
Which ignorant man cannot taint with his utter chaos
Looking towards the seasons and the skies
It gives a sense of order
To my otherwise disorderly life
The moon, the stars, have traveled
Upon their permanent paths
In the eyes of my fathers before me
Their light will touch routinely and changeless
Long after the light in my eyes has dimmed
My children will look up at the same moon and stars
And be soothed by their beauty unknowingly
One day to know Allah is perfect
In his reason and justice
Although man is not
As He sends the moon and stars
To embrace this small family at night
And those we care about.

Originally published in the print edition of The American Muslim Fall Winter 1994