[saadat]

The hissing wind and the swishing sea
with a vengeance turns the wind to lee

Ragging sails, the ship is free
Seagull screams in the distance see

Distraught people in a ship at sway
Creaking stern and the ropes'll, fray

Vociferous sounds of the angry spray
To ghastly thoughts the heart a prey

Not a soul aboard that doth not pray
Rising hands against the wicked gray

O' Lord "Save us from the swishing array"
Confusion mounting screams of dismay

Such was the scene and even yet
A man in white I cannot forget

Unaware of all the cold and wet
he sat eyes closed and face all set

He muttered to himself now and then
free from feelings of where and when

The calm of his face in darkness shown
with a majestic grandeur; he left his throne

Thus he spoke to the people aloud
"Brothers and sisters look at the cloud

The lord remembers his creation's plight
Through the crevice comes a ray of light

The rescue boats you need not fight
For yonder look the land’s in sight"

Original
Saadat
(from personal files--Vintage 1985).
(Islamabad)