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The Soulmate

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The SoulmateThe Poetry Book of Temenos

bySiraj Sirajuddin

The Soulmate: The Poetry Book of Temenos

Copyright © 2016 by Siraj Sirajuddin

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means including photocopying, recording, orinformation storage and retrieval without permission in writing from the author.

Please give us your feedback and comments by email tosiraj@visiontemenos.com

Credits:Cover and Book Design - Praveen SinghSiraj’s Photo - Alex AnbalaganBook Draft and Typing - Chris NewlinMuse - Susan GibsonTeamwork - Temenos+Agility Team

for Amaani Sirajuddin - Daughter Soulmate

Table of Contents

Preface x

Phoenix Soulmate 1

Mystery Soulmate 3

Mother Soulmate 4

First Sighting Soulmate 5

Life Purpose Soulmate 6

Prometheus Soulmate 8

Prometheus Soulmate (Requiem Aeternum) 10

Atlas Soulmate 12

Veil Soulmate 18

Veil Soulmate (awaits me) 20

Veil Soulmate (avoidance) 22

Veil Soulmate (until) 23

Veil Soulmate (woven) 24

Veil Soulmate (slide) 25

Veil Soulmate (aquarian) 26

Veil Soulmate (long) 27

Veil Soulmate (trouble) 28

Pioneer Soulmate 29

Inclined Soulmate 30

Nine Eleven Soulmate 32

Faceless Soulmate 34

Epic Soulmate 36

Gambler Soulmate 37

Last Soulmate 38

Thursday Soulmate 40

Intimidated Soulmate 42

Seven Soulmate 44

Voice Soulmate (your voice) 46

Voice Soulmate (my voice) 47

Sahara Soulmate 48

Watermark Soulmate (influence maps) 50

Fabulous Soulmate 52

Held Soulmate 54

Lonely Soulmate 63

New Leaf Soulmate 64

Sabotage Soulmate 66

Comet Soulmate 67

Stone Soulmate 68

Departed Soulmate 70

Momentary Soulmate 72

May Soulmate 74

Havoc Soulmate 77

Entwined Soulmate 78

Good Night Soulmate 80

Precipice Soulmate 82

Silhouette Soulmate 84

Hedonistic Soulmate 86

Fall Soulmate 87

Socrates Soulmate 88

Compass Soulmate 89

Sanctuary Soulmate 90

Chance Soulmate 91

Bowl Soulmate 92

Isaac Soulmate 94

Unemployed Soulmate 98

Tyrant Soulmate 101

Genesis Soulmate 102

War Child Soulmate 104

Believe Soulmate 106

Silent Soulmate 109

Rejoice Soulmate 110

Enemy Soulmate 111

Beirut Soulmate 112

Nomad Soulmate 114

Amaani Soulmate 117

x

PrefaceHere is a small gateway into my world. This is an opportunity for me to share with you my dreams and my poems, my visions and my songs. Many times I have found myself, walking ahead of myself. By the time I call out to me... I have already become the person ahead of me, and the other person ahead of him, and so on. I have seen dreams where I am the central character in time, history, myth or fable. I am ATLAS, I am ICARUS, I am ADAM, I am Nature...

Every poem here is about me and my various moods and images and forms and incarnations. It is easy to assume that a poem may be about someone else - an inspiration or a poet’s muse! Every word, image, character, animal, beast, bird in these poems is me and about me. And yet, to the reader… it’s all about you. Everything is you and everyone is you. I wish to touch you and become you. The more I breathe, the more I realize that I am from a greater soul and that all of us are a soul from the greater soul. I have tried to express this bonding and commonality in all my poems - we are soulmates.

From me / us to the Greater Soul – that has been my transition. I remain spiri-tual in every aspect of my life and have found a great peace in being balanced. Nature has become a friend and a mirror. Acceptance and Balance – are the lessons I have learnt from my life-song. Accept-ing that I am a speck of dust in the entire universe and yet my role in this uni-verse is to write these poems and share my dreams. Being balanced about what happens around me and what happened before me and what will happen after me is my new way of life. Acceptance has given me the ability to write about war and destruction with the same grace as I would write about peace and childbirth.

I have written about Love, Motherhood, Fatherhood, Nature & Self. I find these four aspects of humanity offer the simplest path to becoming one with the Great Soul. Maybe the Great Soul is about Love, Motherhood, Fatherhood, Nature & Self. Maybe all these words mean the same in God’s Own Language.

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I have no doubt that my dreams have been dreamt before and that mywords have been spoken before by the countless souls who came before me. To them and others, I say... these words are yours and so am I. Indeed I am only a reflection of you in this world. I have imagined millions of beings singing my songs to their lovers. I have imag-ined a million souls singing my homage to their mothers. I have dreamt of my poems becoming vows at weddings and hymns at places of worship. Teachers teaching children, mother’s reading bedtime lullabies dreaming of my poems, Nature herself reciting my poems. The other side of my poems is the fascination for the language and the word. Ev-ery poem is a sweet game of grammar and text, meanings and illusions… An art-ist at work, his words are his tools and his poems are his paintings. I really don’t know how a poem writes itself out, or paints itself out. All I know is, I understand when to start and when to stop. I know when a poem – painting is complete. Sometimes I think my poems are all about my love of the language. And yet words fail me! Every moment in my life is a poem. I chose to write some and let some go. Words cannot capture every meaning and depth of feeling. Every poem is a story told and a story untold. For every word I have used, there is one I have not uttered. How do I communicate this unsaid poem to you? How do I tell you the words of my song that are being born in your soul as you read mine? When you turn this page, you will start the journey of reading my poems. I will miss seeing the emotions and reactions on your face. My first set of readers / soulmates were always kind enough to share these with me. If you care, write down your first reactions and emotions to these poems and send them to me. Enjoy my friend…I will meet you in the blank spaces between these words!!

Humbly, Siraj Sirajuddin

1

Phoenix SoulmateHave I waitedfor this heatAll my life

OrHas hell been expecting me.

I knew my beautyhad to be burnt,

I had to be scarred.

Now, here:

Is this joyat pain

I’m feelingOr

Is it painat joy?

Am I being purgedOr

Am I burning?

Are my wingsmelting into the earth

OrIs my budflowering?

Has the fire heatedmy plume red

OrIs it that my heart

has found all its passions?

7

Prometheus SoulmateAll,

effort was futile, when

the hunger was just insatiable,my love

And,

life, that cruelfriend of yours and Zeus’

laughed at meloudly,

my love.

Until,every soul here

receives their divine Fire,

I waited patiently,my love

And,Pandora, your

gift of beautiful evilwas not at all kind to us,

my love.

Every,chance arrow

I risked,pierced back into my gut,

Every day,my love

9

Prometheus Soulmate (Requiem Aeternum)All of them

Belong to you.

All of these:

Funeral pyresCamp fires Fire placesForest fires Open pits

Closed ovensPotter kilns

Burning embersAnd indeed,

The Divine fireThat burns inside

All of us,

All of these belong to you Your Majesty,Prometheus.

But, It is

The fire within youThat we needed

Yet, You gave the flame

Outside youas our gift.

11

Atlas Soulmate

At last

The globe Rests on

My shouldersAnd

The sun Shines on My back

The moon Reflects on

My soulAnd

The stars Shine onMy eyes

Preface:

ZEUS, the King of Gods, thought he was punishing me, when he sentenced me to carry the earth on my shoulders all my life.

My crime – leading a revolt of the Titans against the Gods

Little did he know me

At last!

I am ATLAS AGAIN.

12

The seaSwims onMy tears

AndThe sandsShift on

My palms

The oceansRipple on

My fingertipsAnd

The windTrembles onMy breath

The rainsDrop on

My reflectionAnd

The lightningStrikes on

My shadow

The iceMelts onMy lips

AndThe glaciers

Cut onMy teeth

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The mountainsIce on

My peaksAnd

The snowMelts on

My valleys

The trees Rise on

My springAnd

The leaves Fall onMy feet

The flowersBloom on My stem

And The hummingbirds

Hover onMy nectar

The eagles Soar on

My horizonAnd

The doves Rest on

My laurels

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The heavens Gaze on

My abundanceAnd

The hellBurns onMy greed

The nationsBattle on

My bordersAnd

The wall Crumbles on

My Berlin

The emperors Rule on

My behalfAnd

The soldiers Gore on

My blood

The priests Pray on

My altarsAnd

The loversEmbrace on

My aisles

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The festivalsCelebrate onMy carnivals

AndThe funeralsMourn on

My Hearses

The menToil on

My fieldsAnd

The women Sing on

My strings

The fathersBless on

My foreheadsAnd

The teachersChalk on

My blackboards

The mothersHeave on

My breastsAnd

The childrenSlide on

My rainbows

17

Veil SoulmateOne more moment

andI will be truly timeless

like you,Oh thin veil

of mine.

One more heartbeatand

I will be a deeper realitylike you,

Oh slender veilof mine.

One more pulseand

I will be silently meditativelike you,

Oh invisible veilof mine.

One more flickerand

I will be burnt incenselike you,

Oh flaming veilof mine.

19

Veil Soulmate (awaits me)Behind your

thin veil

What Burning DesireAwaits me

AndWhat Special Torture

Awaits me.

Behind your silent veil

What Old Story

Awaits me

AndWhat Sweet Tale

Awaits me.

Behind your velvet veil

What Pure Grace

Awaits me

AndWhat Fine Beauty

Awaits me.

Behind your eden veil

30

Nine Eleven SoulmateWould that I could

Touch the skyand

Wish that I could envelope the earth

Every soul

LostWould still be

Here amidst us.

Would that I couldhold the sun

andWish that I could

stop the wind

Every dayNow

Would still be The day before.

Would that I couldLengthen the nights

AndWish that I could

Hold the midnight

Every soulLost

Would still be Sleeping amongst us.

32

Faceless SoulmateShe is a special lady

butShe thinks she is crazy

It does not matter though

When she meets meShe will melt away

Craziness will melt away

Specialness will melt Beauty will also melt

She will stand alone

And separate

So that my kissesCan cover her

AndMy embrace

Can clothe herHer face will meltHer eyes will melt

Even her lips will melt

A faceless soulIs my mate

And When I carry herAnd fly

The sky will be her face

The stars will be her eyesAnd

The sun will burn into her lips

37

Thursday SoulmateThursdays are

Made forSweet torture:

Love escapes us,Lust does not let go,

Fantasies swim up and down,Lucifer comes calling,

And Friday, that sweet woman,

Waits patiently In the wings.

Thursdays areMade for

Sacred reverie:

Memories of our GodnessBathe us in light.

We are consumed by the stillness,Listening, waiting.

Humility comes calling,And

Friday, that sacred renewal,Is refreshed and readyFor a new beginning.

40

Seven SoulmateSeven,

Only sevenwords

For your tired soul, My friend.

And

Seven, Only seven

words For your dried tears,

My friend.

Seven,Only seven

WordsTo make you alive,

My friend

And

Guess,what

The seventh word Is?

45

Watermark Soulmate (influence maps)Deep,

inside my soulis a

certain intricate watermark

A guide left behind

by the touch ofYour

generosity

A truth that remains

unopened With the passage

of time

Until, soothed

by the warmth of Your

attention, I am able to

articulate my:

InfluencesSymbols

IconsImagesDreams

ArchetypesPersonasMasksFaces

47

Fabulous SoulmateHello!

Hiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!

It’s me:Fabulous.

Really, it’s me Fabulous.

How are you?How is your life?

How is your heart?

Are you waiting For my arrival too?

Are you equally Anxious too?

And ...Me?

Ha!

I am out there.

I am waiting for my arrival too!

I am taking shape Inside this

cozy womb.

49

Held SoulmateShe,

held a crystal ball to his Light

and

She,could see her past,

present and her future

She, held his

morning face to the Sun

and

She,could see her sons,

generations and her history

51

53

56

58

New Leaf SoulmateCool winds trust

your nameNew leaves know

Your name

You and your beingare well knownin these realms

Life and all it’s friends,know your soft

footsteps

Mountains,Rivers,Forests,

Maidens, Animals,Horses,Jaguars,Birds,Trees,

Branches,Leaves,

Soil,and

Grass.

Indeed,everyone and all their friends

know your softfootsteps

63

Departed SoulmateLearn to hold

the hand of the manwho takes his child to the grave.

Bless the fawnthat remembers

her mother’s milk.

Pray for cureor at least mercy

for the onewho is on the edge of disease.

Begin your daywith a million names,

one for every soulwho has lived and died

You will never dieand

I will never die.

Lifeand its gifts

will continuefor you and me.

Our shapesand our colors

will change.

Nearand dear oneswill become

more colorfuland less visible.

66

May SoulmateMay the cloudsbe your blanket

tonight

&

May the skiesbe your bed

tonight.

May the chantingsof prayers

be your lullaby

&

May the sweet gamesof angels

be your dreams.

May your soulteach you to sense

the divine inspirationyou bring to us

&

May your soullearn to relax

the hidden agendas in your shadow’s soul.

67

May your soulbe grateful forboth the dayand the night

&

May your soulbe grateful forboth the joy

and the tears.

May your Hunger for intelligence

be fedby my companionship

&

May yourThirst for knowledge

be quenchedin the oasis ofmy friendship.

May your dreamsbe a part of

the greater dreamthat the earth dreams

for all of us.

71

Good Night SoulmateMellow moonshine

Bending towards my skin,Good night.

Sleepy sunReturning to your mother ocean,

Good night.

Long shadowsMerging into the dark unknown,

Good night.

Sweet tortureOf the seventh heaven,

Good night.

Ten fantasies All at the same time,

Good night.

Conscious mindPretending to be in control,

Good night.

Droopy eyelidsLosing to the pull of gravity,

Good night.

Complete freedomAll unto ourselves,

Good night.

73

Precipice SoulmateOnce again,

My loveWe are on the edge

of:

Greatness,Humility,

Joy,Ambition,Creativity,

Compassion,Learning,

Peace,And

Truth.

We are Falling

in the arms of the universe Soaring

on the tides of wind

Creating. Created

We are Leaning

into one anotherWe areLiving

for the sake ofLoving.

75

Silhouette SoulmateOh,

My God:

There is noBeingAnd

There is noPerson.

There is no Enemy

AndThere is no

Lover.

There is noMaskAnd

There is no Mirror.

There is noMemory

AndThere is no

Image.

There is noSoundAnd

There is noVibration.

83

Bowl SoulmateOh,

Look at All

These silly elephants

In my bowl.

They swim Carelessly

In my bowl.

They floatEffortlessly

In my bowl.

And

Then,There is this

one.The stubborn

one.Yes,

The one On my Back.

Who refuses to Swim

CarelesslyIn myBowl.

85

Isaac SoulmateHello,Isaac,You,

Are back.

Yes, We agree:

Your,Binding wasTruly unfair

AndYour,

Proposed sacrifice Was murder.

Now:

Your,Soul returns

In furyAndYour,

Heart is notAt peace.

So,You return

With venom and

Vengeance.

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But hey, Wait a minute.

Stay!

Sincerely, Dear Soulmate,Can you get out

Of the box?

What,Can we offer you

As Supplication

And Charm?

Who,Are you

Truly angry With:

God?Abraham?Archangel?Yourself ?

Or The humble us?

Take a pause,Have a cup of tea.

Let’s discuss:Hurricane To

Hurricane.

88

Unemployed SoulmateEvery day

I wake up toFind my self

Inside aFood stamp.

Role models,Influence mappers,

Trust artists,Cupcake decorators,

Sooth sayers,Fish mongers,

Chicken sexers, Straw men,

Thunder deliverers,Anvil makers,

Mountain mappers,

And

Several other Strange professionals Present themselves Before me today.

I hurry up and get dressed

for an interview with an

invisible savior.

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I quickly learn That

my elevator pitchresonates

onlywith the birds.

The rows and columns

on this formdo not have

space for my past or my future.

I want to check an Occupation listed

and find that my box ismissing.

The names theycalled out for hire

do not fitme.

The names they did not call out

alsodo not fit

me.

93

War Child SoulmateI can’t accept these devastating battles

anymore:

The children of my motherReach out to me

Outstretched armsHungry palms

Deep eyesMissing Thighs

Solid SoulTattered Body

Singing LipsCrying eyes

The children of my fatherReach out to me

Burnt skinUntouched pride

Scarred BodyUnscathed Beauty

Hungry stomachsSatisfied appetite

Tattered RagsProtected Honor

95

Believe SoulmateI was the only onewho believed you,I was the only one

who believed in you:

You said youwere an angelYou said you

were from the heaven.

You said youhad lived like a bird

You said youhad risen from the dead.

You said youknew the new song of life

You said youlearnt a new way to breathe.

You spoke ofyour love for silences

You spoke ofyour fear of words.

You said youhad a secret love

You said youhad found a

new heartbeat.

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You spoke ofyour pain in love

You spoke ofyour lovely pain

You said youhad broken chains

You said youhad bonded with Love.

You said youhad lived like a wanderer

You said youhad traveled to distant lands.

You said youhad climbed the mountains

You said youheld their peaks in your palm.

You said youran with the wind

You said youbefriended the air.

You said youknew the language of children

You said youspoke to the babies in your womb.

You said youhad sipped the morning dew

You said youhad tasted the nectar of the sunset.

102

Nomad SoulmateMothers

Become miragesOn the desert

of my memory

FathersFade into light

On the darkness of my memory.

Religion,Prayers,Angels,Devils,Friends,Lovers,Dreams,Hopes,Places,Homes,

Nothing stays trueOr

ConstantFor the

Nomad Soulmate.

103

OfThe words I said

andThe deeds I did,Nothing remains.

Motherland alsoRemains

a vague memory.

I forget the placeOf birth

And get ready to be born again.

I call out to a new land

Andlet bygones be bygones.

I wake up to a new conflict

Andlet sleeping

dogs lie