Best Taha Poems
"Lucifer's Laments"
By M. Taha Effendi
(Dramatic Monologue)
Do You not see, Almighty God,
How Your order man defied?
So base, so vile, so gravely flawed,
Yet so consumed by pride!
He broke all sacred codes though warned,
He dared to pay no heed,
He mocked Your words, Your gifts he
scorned,
He breached what You decreed,
Beyond the holy saint's facade,
There hides a worthless cheat,
A savage beast, a thief, a fraud,
The master of deceit,
Too weak to tame his lust and greed,
To feel remorse, too vain,
Power, wealth his only creed,
And Your worship he disdains,
He quenched his thirst with blood he
spilled,
In countless wars he waged,
Centuries wore on. Millions killed,
Civilizations laid to waste,
But he prides this life of sin and crime,
As he leads himself astray!
His humanity lost in his race with time,
And by the error of his way,
Why then My Lord was I expelled?
Was mine a darker sin?
I am the angel that rebelled,
But is not man my evil twin?
To salve his conscience, me he blames,
When he himself is full of vice,
While in his heart surely he shames,
To have staged his own demise,
It is a myth his vice I feed,
He writes himself his fate,
Man: A far more disgusting breed,
Not merely my incarnate!
(Finalist - International Poetry Soup
Contest 2011)
"Victus"
By M. Taha Effendi
(Didactic)
Amidst the gloom of night's dark shroud,
lurks Death in far corners of the shade.
To vanquish my fears to God I bowed,
And death shall find me... unafraid.
Amidst this vale of tears and pain,
my heart in life's robbed solace bled.
God gave me strength to stand again,
I found peace in His words I read.
In pleasures and crime my life is spent,
with sins the wretched soul is weighed.
But God's love taught me to repent,
He pursued me everytime I strayed.
It matters not how dark the past,
how much the evil takes its toll.
Darkness thrives but never shall last,
The Savior redeems the conquered soul.
(Inspired by "Invictus" by William Ernest
Henley)
"Ensnare My Heart"
By M. Taha Effendi
(Ballad)
O beautiful maiden of my captive heart,
Are you not the lone bard's pompous muse?
With allure that inspired the divine art,
Heavens' hand made you with such delicate use,
What sweet circumstance upon me befalls,
My heart the endearing perfidy has plotted,
Entombed in my bosom, it beats to your calls,
Loves beyond reason the heart besotted,
Let my soul swoon at your eternal beauty awhile,
Mesmerize by sheer fineness of your chiseled cheek,
Beguile by crimson roses that adorn your seraphic smile,
Savor in you the beauty of which poets speak,
Your eyes are gleaming lagoons of preserved vintage,
Shades the cerulean ocean from their depths did lease,
The jealous eye of heaven envies your radiant visage,
The blushing moon embarrassed cowers beneath the seas,
Would you shelter me in your silken veil perchance?
That imbue elation in those who wander in its shade,
And sways to cadence of zephyrs in an eternal dance,
To invoke dark urges of soul with a sublime serenade,
The Old Man
Eleven Thousand miles away,
there lives an old man, so they say.
He works and toils to teach and make,
his students smart and chocolate cake.
He has an old, worn pair of specs.
He has a mailbox, daily he checks.
He has an orange shirt he wears,
with blue brown checks and lots of tears.
He likes to write, he likes to cook.
he never turns down a good book.
He plays a flute so calm and cool.
He swims every day in his pool.
He likes to talk philosophy
on topics that we never see.
He has a lot of friends world wide.
He makes them smile, Indeed so wide.
People admire him by the ton.
Indeed the old man is much fun.
-Taha
The Lily:
I found it swaying, happily among,
Its stranger friends, with me laughing along.
I hadn’t a clue, how crucial it’d be,
To my sanity, love, knowledge and glee.
We spent nights and days, talking endlessly,
Of sorrow, thoughts, books, future, reality,
So close we were but, we never knew why.
A sibling? Lover? Friend? Parabatai?
We dreamt of living, together and free,
Of doing everything, that we couldn’t complete.
But Alas! Life came, and tore us apart,
Made us, not one, but two hearts.
Never feeling the fact, I carried on.
Never knowing me full, it carried on.
I was never able, to show till now
How much I loved it, does it matter now?
It has its own life. I have my own drifts.
Though filled with worries, it still has few gifts.
The memories of old, the happiness of past,
The longing for my soul, the beating of my heart.
-By Taha
"At Times I Wonder"
By M. Taha Effendi
(Nazam)
At times I wonder what life would have been worth
Spent cloaked in soft shades of your sable tresses
If ill-fated darkness that shrouds my wrecked hearth
Was slayed by vigorous radiance of your eyes' recesses
Oblivious to earthly callings would it be so unfair
If I remained in your mesmerisms so eternally engrossed
Your heavenly allure my parched eyes would ensnare
On the fabrics of your existence my love I embossed
When plagued by the bitterness of life's onerous race
I would drink the glacé elixir upon your crimson lips
Bury my distresses within the calm of your embrace
Build my sanctuary in the shade of its eclipse
Sigh! This traitorous heart pounds even in such dismal state
I breathe with no hope of mirth nor a word of protest
My vacant eyes resigned to this inescapable fate
I stand unwilling to rebuild my plundered nest
Clasped perforce to my bosom the agonies my love bequeath
I heave my wounds through accursed corridors that adorn
Deathly shadows that loom, daunting horrors that wreathe
Where every step garlands me with camouflaged thorns
With not a course in sight, neither a goal nor any thrill
I trudge with bare feet across the scorching earths
Dreading the inevitable plunge from edge of sanity and still
At times I wonder what life would have been worth
(Finalist - International Poetry Soup Contest 2012)
"Estranged Love"
By M. Taha Effendi
(Rhyme)
Countless days came and passed,
each day in misery spent.
every day I live as my last,
since the day you are absent.
Each day I hope of your return,
I find my hopes desert me.
To bear this pain the more i yearn,
the more it grows to hurt me.
I tried to live. I tried in vain,
my efforts bore no fruit.
I fell apart living in pain,
but my love stood resolute.
Then late one night I cried to God,
tears streaming down my cheeks.
Please hear my plea, I beg you Lord,
I've starved myself for weeks.
If you must then change my fate,
please let me be with her.
For this long and futile wait,
proves too much for me to bear.
Rid me of this suffering,
my fate rests in your hand.
For i exist as something,
that is neither dust nor sand.
Comfort me with a lie if you must,
so i wont writhe again.
Or tell the truth so i may just,
end these throes of pain.
Death will be my solace,
when such agony is rife.
I'll surrender to its sweet embrace,
to end my wasted life.
I cried to God with all my heart,
I begged for her in one last breath.
For being alive while torn apart,
is a fate worse than death.
"The Hen-pecked Husband"
By M. Taha Effendi
(Light Poetry)
The door bell rang yet again,
and yonder heard the distinct voice,
of my dear old wife, full of pain,
drowned all my dreams of rejoice.
then came the thundering slap,
that landed on my cheek now red,
and as I panicked out of my nap,
I realized I had wet my bed.
"Lone Survivor"
By M. Taha Effendi
(Sonnet)
He wandered through each ravaged street,
death lurked wherever strayed his feet,
His ears resounded with frantic, dying calls,
of those whose blood stained the city's walls,
With tears he gazed at the darkened sky,
cursed what bombed his city till it would die,
Before him lay the rubbled graves,
of his mother and siblings it now saves,
He stood there transfixed, confused,
His life's last few hours misused, abused,
He stood there numb as time moved on,
In the blink of an eye his haven was gone,
Is there ever a fate so worse,
than a corpse deprived the funeral hearse?
Rongtern Mansion
By M. Taha Effendi
(Verse Libre)
The front door of the mansion mysteriously creaks open,
I freeze.
Hoping to hear a welcoming voice,
But all I hear is the wailing of the cold wind,
The pitter-patter of rain outside,
And the roar of lightning,
The room reeks of damp, decayed wood and dusty furniture,
I enter.
The hall is dark,
I can only make out countless ornate mirrors glittering on the walls all around,
And a tiny candle that flickers on a table at the far end of the hall,
An old telephone sits beside it,
Squinting around nervously for any sign of life,
Groping through the darkness,
I reach the table,
An ornate frame is perched on the wall there,
An old man, balding, with a heavily creased face, firm jaws,
and blood shot eyes, bearing a somewhat sinister smile,
Looks back at me from it,
A strange macabre feeling suddenly engulfs me,
I pick up the cold receiver with a trembling hand,
holding it to my ear,
about to dial,
When suddenly with a flash of lightning,
I catch the smile of the old man in the portrait falter,
And hear the sobs of a little girl on the phone,
"H-h-h-hide me f-from d-d-daddy... H-hide m-me f-from d-daddy,"
Terrified, a cold shudder trickles down my spine,
fogging my mind and senses,
The phone slips from my grasp and hits the floor with a thud,
And instantly the echoes of the girl's sobs get louder,
They seem to be coming from behind a closed oak door a few steps away,
As I reluctantly make my way towards it,
The constant howl of the wind seems like an evil cackle,
I can't help but feel that someone is breathing down my neck.
I swallow a nervous whimper,
Finally I am at the door,
I turn the knob,
It is locked.
Just then I hear a floor board creak inside the room,
Confused, I crouch and peep through the keyhole,
I see nothing but darkness,
But I wait,
Perhaps my eye will adjust to the dark,
It does,
And what it beholds makes the very blood in my veins curdle,
From the other side of the keyhole was peeping,
A bloodshot eye...
Winner of contest:
"A Creepy, Scary Haunted House Poem, Please"
by
Constance - My Dear Heart
The tormented cries of a heart confined
Barely ever met a gratifying end
The meager state is but a trick of your mind
For the course of destiny lies in your own hand
Forsaken love, a conceivable excuse
For a shattered being, to give up life
It is but a presumption, erroneously abstruse
For success greets those who dare to survive
No past, no fate, that He Cannot Mend
Or an ill-fated tale to have ever spawned
Never lose hope, however evident the end
For night is the darkest just before dawn
By M. Hussain Effendi
(In reply to the poem "Estranged Love" posted by M. Taha Effendi)
"Without You"
By M. Taha Effendi
(Ballad)
Every day without her I spend crying,
praying there's always a smile on her face.
i'm tired of hiding from her that i'm lying,
i'm tired of hiding that i'm losing my grace.
She called me last night to ask if i'm well.
I lied,"i have a girlfriend now... I'm alright."
she's unaware, actually i'm going through hell,
for i still dream about her every single night.
I still walk the streets alone, she doesn't know,
every night i think of her with someone else.
With every tear i shed, my love will only grow,
can't she see that when i lost her, i really fell?
but I'll never let her know that i'm hurt,
I'll hide my face from her whenever i frown.
and I'll fake a smile when it hurts me the most,
because I don't want to cast her down.
I'll tell her only what she wants to hear,
just so that she won't feel so bad.
I'll pretend to her that I do not care,
because I don't want to make her sad.
Every day without you I spend crying,
but I still pray there's a smile on your face.
and in my heart I sure feel like dying,
because your memories I just cant erase.
You'll hear from me everything that you need,
just so that you won't feel so bad.
I'll pretend to you that I do not bleed,
because I dont want to make you sad.
Before you read the following poem, please read the first part of this poem that I have posted on this website separately.
"Deliverance"
by M. Taha Effendi
(Didactic)
Oh mortal! Do not be sad,
I know it hurts to wait.
Have patience, you will be glad,
to learn what's in your fate.
I know you love her dearly,
but to lose her is a test.
And now is just too early,
for you to know whats best.
Be patient, do not worry.
And do not act in haste.
Fruits eaten in hurry
carry a bitter taste.
Be not troubled by your past,
for you will smile tomorrow.
Though happiness will never last,
I am here to heal your sorrow.
To take a life is murder,
even if it is your own.
With death you two will be farther,
than when you are alone.
You both will live on; miles apart,
though your love will never end.
Time will heal your broken heart,
Your life, patience will mend.
I know this love you can't forget
but just live life by my rule
there is a life after death
that to ignore you'd be a fool
you will know if you are wise,
I do not comfort with lies.
For there is a place called paradise,
where you will finally claim your prize.
Unrequited Soliloquies Of The Heart
Estranged
By M. Taha Effendi
(Sonnet)
As I walk along the twilit avenue,
A forlorn heart bids the day adieu,
The rubicund sun withdraws its weary
gaze,
Surrenders its quest of endless days,
Vagrant clouds drift to uncharted lands,
Twilight steals a last glance through
evening's hands,
The gloaming emblazoned with pink and
gray hue,
As I walk along the twilit avenue,
The west wind wails in melancholy,
A lonely river seeks the embrace of the
sea,
Unchained melodies of the solitaire's
refrain,
That has emptied love's hemlock to the
drains,
Unrequited soliloquies of the heart
estranged,
Nature's course, onerous, unchanged,
By: Ali Taha Alnobani
I'm to leave now
A tall ghost is carrying my bag
A long street is walking behind me
A mad merchant bought my smiles
And no water to renew the dusk
I can't have my step begun
Even if the rain washed my tears
***
I'm to leave now
Can I have a deep look at your eyes?
Can I take my dreams, your smile
And my dried red rose?
Can I keep your image in my mind?
***
I'm to leave now
The hungry clouds and the angry trees
Scanned my face with a magic brush
To find the sleepy nice angel
But the narrow path through the forest
Had had fun alone
***
When I walk away
I'll pray to god for you to be happy
I'll collect wild flowers
And hold them around your picture
I will watch the river
May be a bit of his sails
Bring me your compassionate voice
***
It is not necessary to be together
If gardens want to paint your picture alone
If clouds like to rain for you alone
But forgive me
Beads of rain could be mixed with my tears
***
It is not necessary to be together
If the day needs something
And the night needs an other
If a baby comes to have life
And does not find a mother
***
Do you remember
When I told you the story of crazy traveler
Who made a sail of his sweetheart dress
And a prayer of her words
And sang in all languages of the world
Then gods blessed him
That was the prophecy
I've seen in your eyes
***
It is not necessary to be together
I can see you wherever I go
I can hear your voice in the storm
And in the calm evening
***