THE DRUNKEN SOLDIER
The drunken soldier broke down
the wrong door
Inside was a circle of saints
lifted off the ground
To the sound of gunfire
a really supernal yellow light
shone round them
His jaw dropped
and his heart stopped
In the dark of the room
he saw his place
At the cost of so much blood
so little decency
The saints admitted him
to their convocation
The rest of the world went
dizzily into the background
The rest of the war popped in his
ears like distant fireworks
The young soldier
lifted off the ground
Suddenly his age didn’t prevent him
from becoming ancient
The hearts in that room
were made of bronze and
royal copper
In their burnished surfaces
the Face of God shone resplendently
The drunken soldier
broke down the wrong door
Inside was a family of saints
huddled together
In the death of decency
so much bloodshed
The circle of saints
admitted him to their company
The drunken soldier
broke down the wrong door
Inside they
broke bread
1/22/2008 (from The Fire Eater’s Lunchbreak / Tall Tales in Short Takes, in progress)
Filed under: ABDAL-HAYY'S POETRY
Your words never cease to inspire me and this poem in particular has touched me so very deeply.
Upon reading it again and again, I feel a certain peace that is very calming to my soul and a loving energy that fills me with hope.
I have family living in a place of war and friends serving as soldiers in that war. My brothers and sisters are all of mankind, and my hope is that the door we all enter will be the right door where we will find the face of God and in His loving energy we will also find peace.
-Deborah
aka indigo-daisy
Dear Deborah:
Al-hamdulillah… all the prizes, accolades, recognitions can’t match a statement and reaction like yours. From the depths of the night in which I wrote this poem to you through a miraculous air, brings the greatest joy and satisfaction. May your and all involved people in all situations be safe and blessed in this war and all innermost wars.
[...] is how I felt when I came across “The Drunken Soldier” by Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore, one of my favorite modern day Sufi poets. I find his poetry so inspiring because it stimulates my [...]
beautiful poem. God bless.
What love there is in your pen, dear Brother! What beauty and deep insight. I love this poem, and have been in my life like the drunken soldier. By the grace of God, Alhamdulillah, I too was led to the circle of the Friends. I am in tears..
Ya Haqq!
Brother, havent we all been the drunken soldier?may we all find that circle of saints, and break bread. good great stuff…
Drops flowing down
Scattering pearls
A heart inside
Infinite supernova’s whirl
E=MC square
Quantum mechanics
A yellow bright
Surrounded the static’s
The Angels swim,
Two iota’s on wings
The embryo
The Signs it sings
The stepping back
The stepping forward
The Opening
The Glorification
The forehead is lowered
Walking to the station
Of Endless Praise
A Greeting surrendered
A Greeting exchanged
The yellow shine
was happy as a Child
Lo, witnessing
The Altogether Lovely
Light
An amazing response, as if my poem were turned inside-out and seen from a kind of radiant subatomic perspective…
Blessings…