Poetry

John O’Nolan photo

 

By

Sohail Mahmood

 

 

 

Food for the soul

 

 

Food for the soul is solitude and nature surroundings

Where there is quiet and not a whisper is heard

And u still silently grasping the meaning of it all

Such solitude is a blessing

And cursed are the ones who don’t fathom its delights

Where u are in one with the universe

For you are in the universe and the universe is in you’

Back and forth

Just the imagination

A world within u

And a world outside you

A billion souls all wandering in the world

Doing what?

Going where?

Looking for what?

What you seek is within you so, where are you looking

My dear friend

Connect with your own soul

And be at peace with the universe

What is now is what is meant to be

Just cherish the moment

For it will not come back ever

Enjoy the beauty of the world

For it will perish one day

Enrich your soul as you enrich your body

For you are a soul caged in a human body

And just as your body needs nourishment

So, does your soul my friend

Take care of your soul as you take care of your body

Both are perish indeed

One without the other is what is known as death

As you live, so does your soul within you

So, nourish your soul my friend

Take time out for it

Connect with nature to get to the soul

In solitude, calm, rested

At peace with everything and everyone

That is pure bliss indeed

But then you are an ocean of torment and desires erupting within you

You have peace and then you are tormented

That is the human condition

After all, we are not angels

We are only human

That is life my friend

That is life my friend

Just ponder on it

Will you take time out for yourself?

Think for a minute my friend

I gaze a world within me and a world without

Seas of desires and dreams in my own oceans

Longing for this, and longing for that

Endless streams coming and going in the oceans within me

And yet, there is a world outside me

I look back and forth in bewilderment

What is real? What is farce?

My imagination is as real as can be

My own oceans roar and swirl as deafening as can be

My torments, as painful as can be

And yet, there is a world beyond

And I look in bewilderment back and forth

Souls anguished

Souls tormented

Souls lost in this world

Too busy to even ponder their own selves

Too busy doing what?

Happiness is in the heart

Not material of the world

Bliss is inside you

A few minutes of solitude in majestic nature is bliss and is food for the soul.

 

Lucky are the ones who can have it for they have indeed enriched their souls.

 

People too busy to take time out for these moments to connect with their souls through nature

 

These people have definitely suffered unknowingly.

 

So take heed my dear friend and take time out each day to connect with nature for that is food for the soul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a joy to be alive

 

 

Love the joy of nature

Feel the majesty of the mountains

The deep forests

The gushing streams

The wonderful scents around you

The music of the forest

The songs of the birds

The fabulous colors engulfing you

It is a joy to be alive

It is a joy to be alive

Feel the radiant morning

The blue sky

The cold crisp air

The beauty of the morning dew on the rose petal

How it shines as it reflects the sunlight

The flower bud

The color of the flower

How it radiates its beauty

How lovely is to watch the flowers in full bloom?

So much awash with color

Bright ones

Looks so nice

Smells so nice also

It is a joy to be alive

It is a joy to be alive

Feel the beauty of Nature surrounding you

The rustle of the leaves

The beauty of autumn around you

The smell of the crisp clean air

The look at the majestic mountains

The pine forests

How I love the smell of the pine forests

Isn’t this Paradise?

It is the beauty of divine nature

The lovely forests

The lovely flowers

The gushing streams

The pure clean water

Lovely to drop your hand and catch the water in the palm of your hand

And see the water slip out

Feel the coldness of the pure water in your hand

How lovely is this divine Nature around you?

How lovely to be alive and be able to feel it

You are one with the divine Nature

It is in you around you

You feel you are one with it

The beautiful colors of the flowers

The scent of the forests

The bright blue sky

The clouds like cotton balls in the sky

The flight of the birds

The song of the birds

The song of the gushing streams

The song of the wind as it blows among the trees

How beautiful is divine Nature

You and Nature are one

It flows in you

It is good to be alive

It is hood to be alive

Sense nature around you

Feel its pleasure in you

Such is the joy of Nature

It is a joy to be alive

It is a joy to be alive

The sheer joy of nature

So powerful

Such beauty

Such splendor

Such pleasure within you

It is a joy to be alive

It is a joy to be alive

You feel divine

Such is the pleasure of nature

Such is sheer beauty of the mountains

The forests

The streams

You feel you are divine

One with nature

You are divine

Such is the joy to be alive

Such is the joy to be alive

Ecstasy is thy name

Joy is thy feeling

Pleasure knows no bounds

Thanks for this life

It is a joy to be alive

For it is a joy to be alive

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sohail Mahmood

Sohail Mahmood is an independent global affairs analyst and the author of several books, monographs and research articles on Middle East and South Asian politics, governance and development issues. He has taught for about 30 years in various universities of Pakistan and US and has worked as a consultant for the World Bank, CIDA, SDC, IUCN and UNDP. Sohail is married and has two grown sons. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States.