Eleven Odes

to

Little Girls S h a h b a n o A l i a n i

Na’layn Publications

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© 2015 Na’layn Publications, Karachi

© 2015 Shahbano Aliani

Email: nalayn.publications@gmail.com

Website: www.nalaynpublications.com

Graphics: Free vintage illustrations from thegraphicsfairy.com

Poetry & Design: Shahbano Aliani

This pdf book is a free gift from Na’layn Publications and the

author for our friends. Please download, read and share it

with others free of charge for non-commercial purposes

only.

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for

Little & Big Girls

Everywhere

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Table of Contents

Introduction 4

For My Daughter 5

Our Daughter Is A Shiny Star 7

From June To December 8

“Infinity Around Space” 9

But You Already Know 10

I Simply Adore You 11

Garden Gnome-a 12

Remember Who You Are 13

A Little Girl I Know 15

I Want To Hug You 17

Wheel On My Heart 18

About The Author 19

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Introduction I wrote most of these poems for my daughter and a couple for

another girl I love. Some of the poems have a little story, which is

shared at the end of the poem.

My daughter, Oma Mika Hameed, was about seven or eight when

I started writing Sufi (mystical) poetry. Though she was curious

about my poems, when I read them out to her, she wasn’t very

impressed. With the unselfconscious candour of a child she

announced, “Mama, I don’t understand your poems. And anyway,

how can they be poems? They don’t rhyme.” So, when I wrote

poems for her, I tried hard to make them rhyme. Sometimes, I

succeeded.

When I shared a few of the poems on social media many people

liked them. I realized, anyone who knows and loves a little girl –

and really, who doesn’t? – would enjoy this small collection.

So, I’ve put all my poems for and to little girls together in this tiny

book. Please feel free to share it with anyone who you think will

enjoy them. They are a gift to all girls, their parents,

grandparents, friends, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, godparents

and well-wishers.

Shahbano Aliani

6th November 2015

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1 For My Daughter

i loved you before

i was conscious of anything

before i dreamt of you

thought of you wanted you or held you,

i loved you

in every way i knew how:

the way i had been loved

the way i had not been loved the way i wished i had been loved

the fullness and the void

of love i had known or yearned for over lifetimes

and ages all poured into

my love for you

i loved you

with ferocity and wholeheartedness

unspeakable joy

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and unbearable torment

as only one who gives birth

can love her child

11th december 2011

Having a child can potentially be one of the most potent creative experiences, a gateway to the expression of the Life Force. Not surprisingly, becoming a mother is something that can transform and intensify the experience of life. This poem is about the awakening that childbirth brought into my life, an experience which was simultaneously terrifying and exquisite and which seemed to have been seeded at an ancient moment, before the birth of anything. This poem was first published in “Set My Heart On Fire: A Collection of Sufi Poems”

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2 Our Daughter Is A Shiny Star

our daughter is a shiny star shining brightly from afar

pretty as a butterfly fragrant as a flower

we carry her in our hearts

so she’s never ever far

she’s really kind and lovely sweeter than honey in a jar

if you had a daughter as sweet

you’d be as lucky as we are

6th july, 2011

Oma started emailing me when she was about eight because I

travelled often for work and this was, in addition to speaking on

the phone, one more way of staying in touch. This poem was

written when her father and I were traveling without her; I wanted

to tell her, in very simple language, how special she was and how

blessed we were to have her.

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3 From June To December

i love you from june to december i love you from january to may

i love you more than a sky full of stars more than a million truckloads of hay

i love you more than calculators can count

and more than all the words can say

i love you more each year, each month i love you more every minute of every day

i love you from june to december

i love you from january to may

undated

In all of my emails to Oma, I would write, “I love you.” Her abiding contention was, “I love you more!” This almost always led to a competition of sorts, with each of us claiming that it was she who loved the other more. This poem is my counterclaim in rhyme.

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4 “Infinity Around Space”

i love you “infinity around space” in an infinity of ways

like a silky moonlit gaze or an open flower face

like the migrant bird who stays

the first word a baby says

like woolly sheep who graze in the chilly morning haze

like the sunflower with its face always turned to the sun’s rays

in all the nights and days

i love you infinity 'round space in an infinity of ways

1st october, 2012

When she was little, Oma would tell me, “Mama, I love you infinity around space.”

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5 But You Already Know

i love you too but you already know

that this is just this and that is just so

as the sparrow twitters

and as squawks the crow

i love you too but you already know

as the rain comes fast

and the night comes slow as the sun shines bright

but the moon’s a soft glow

i love you too but you already know

as the fire is hot

as cold is the snow as fruit always ripens

and children always grow

i love you too

but you already know

10th january, 2011

Dear Reader, you already know why I wrote this poem.

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6 I Simply Adore You

my dear, my darling

i don’t want to bore you

with many many words

or long long speeches

about roses and violets

or mountains and beaches

i don’t want to take up

too much of your time

in order to make up

an interesting rhyme

i’ve said it before

and i’ll say it again

in words that are clear

unambiguous and plain

as i said, my dear

i don’t want to bore you

so i’ll come to the point:

i simply adore you

9th January 2010

This is a revised version of a poem written for a not so little girl’s

birthday.

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7 Garden Gnome-a

there was a little girl named oma

who's mama called her oma-paloma

she had

long hair and bangs

but thankfully no fangs

and was more precious than a garden gnome-a!

2nd october, 2010

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8 Remember Who You Are

little girl remember

who you are

you’re a perfect, powerful,

beautiful star

you are a little girl

they say

who’ll grow up

one day

until then you’re

just a child

to be tamed

so you don’t go wild

grown ups don’t always

take you seriously

and some of them

shout quite furiously

all of them tell you

what to do

because they think

they know better than you

some make you feel

weaker and smaller than you are

others make you feel

bigger and taller than you are

some make you feel

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special and so very loved

others do things that’re

mean or absurd

but you know you carry

a light in your heart

that can never be hurt

or broken apart

that can never be made

to feel smaller than it is

you’ve always known

and you’ll always know this

so, little girl always

remember who you are

you are a perfect, powerful,

beautiful star

2010

Oma was struggling with the adult world and its desire to

dominate the little ones. My heart ached for her and for little and

big girls everywhere who had been made to feel small and

inadequate by someone bigger. I wanted to remind all of us that no

one and nothing can diminish or damage our inner light.

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9 A Little Girl I Know

there is a little girl

bouncy and happy

like little girls should be

her eyes shine

with the light

from which she’s made

she knows

the secret of the stars

why flowers

nod in the breeze

she knows

what rain drops sing

and that clouds

and moon taste sweet

she knows

all this because

she is stars

and spring breeze

she is rain

and clouds and moon

her heart

bigger than the sky

her smile

brighter than the sun

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and so

she also knows

the best secret

of all

she knows

what it is to be loved

she knows

what it is to love

she is a radiant,

fragrant creature

who lives inside you

set her free

8th january 2009

Another birthday poem for a very special girl, who coaxes out the

playful child in me and whose presence I delight in always.

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10 I Want To Hug You

i want to hug you

so tight

that you dissolve

in my chest

where i carry you

every moment

part heartbeat

part breath

i want to hug you

so tight

that i soak up

all your pain

and, pour into you

my love

immense, like the sky

soft, like your hand

sweet, like jasmine

my love

to make you smile and shine

forever

15th december 2008

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11 Wheel on My Heart

there was a little child inside me too

just like you

she was lost or asleep

for so long

i’d forgotten she’d ever been

but when i found you

i found her too

you held her hand

and made her play

and made her laugh

and made her cry

so easily

you found

the wheel on my heart

and turned it round

and round

filling it with joy

filling it with pain

filling it with love

i knew not

i could feel

september 2008

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About the Author

Shahbano Aliani was born and raised in Pakistan and spent

many years studying and working in the United States.

Increasingly disillusioned with the mediocrity and futility of her

outer endeavours and plagued by a growing disquiet, she

searched for purpose and meaning and was brought to the Sufi

path through the Zawia (spiritual retreat) and teachings of

Shaykh Ebrahim Etsko Schuitema in 2009. Soon thereafter the

poetry, a tiny bit of which is included in this little book, began to

arrive, demanding to be written. Shahbano continues her inner

journey and writing what her muse demands.

Find Shahbano at: https://www.facebook.com/shahbanoaliani

More poetry at: www.sufipoetryenglish.blogspot.com

Sufi aphorisms at: www.sufi-girl.blogspot.com