EASTERN PROMISES BROKEN
His eyes, so full of eastern promises
Saffron scents and setting red suns
Wild orchids growing in the mountains
Under clear blue morning skies
His hands so strong, yet so soft
His touch so gentle, yet so firm
Eastern promises in the warm air
That I so much wanted to come true
He introduced me to the music of Ravi Shankar
Now I know who inspired the Beatles
His voice, like flowing warm honey
As he read to me his favourite poetry
Works of the Sufi masters he told me
What was said to the rose that made it open
How I wish I knew the answer to that question
But some secrets maybe should never be told
We had such dreams, such beautiful dreams together
But their pictures were like the jigsaw puzzles I make
Broken up into small pieces and by other people’s hands
We both knew deep down that our secret could never last
A forbidden love on either side of a wall of convention
He had a wife, a young bride in all but title and name
A marriage arranged by his parents when he was a boy
Family honour must be protected at all cost, no scandal allowed
That was all so long ago now, a love, a world lost to me
All that remains now are saffron scented memories and dreams
A world of eastern promises lost to me forever
But I still remember those times, those words, that love, that touch
And as I tend the roses in my garden that I love so much
I still ask myself the same question every day and hear his voice
What was said to the rose that made it open, I need to know
Because this rose feels like it will never truly be open again
SPOKEN WORDS
Even after all these years I still remember every word of that poem
WHAT WAS SAID TO THE ROSE*What was said to the Rose
What was said to the rose that made it open
was said to me here in my chest.
What was told to the cypress that made it strong
and straight, what was whispered to the jasmine
so it is what it is, whatever made sugarcane
sweet; whatever was said to the inhabitants
of the town of Chigil in Turkestan that makes
them so handsome, whatever lets the pomegranate
flower blush like a human face, that is being
said to me now. I blush. Whatever put eloquence
in language, that’s happening here. The great
warehouse doors open; I fill with gratitude,
chewing a piece of sugarcane, in love with
the one to whom every ‘that’ belongs!
Words by Rumi - Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī
b 1207, d 1273
Saffron scents and setting red suns
Wild orchids growing in the mountains
Under clear blue morning skies
His hands so strong, yet so soft
His touch so gentle, yet so firm
Eastern promises in the warm air
That I so much wanted to come true
He introduced me to the music of Ravi Shankar
Now I know who inspired the Beatles
His voice, like flowing warm honey
As he read to me his favourite poetry
Works of the Sufi masters he told me
What was said to the rose that made it open
How I wish I knew the answer to that question
But some secrets maybe should never be told
We had such dreams, such beautiful dreams together
But their pictures were like the jigsaw puzzles I make
Broken up into small pieces and by other people’s hands
We both knew deep down that our secret could never last
A forbidden love on either side of a wall of convention
He had a wife, a young bride in all but title and name
A marriage arranged by his parents when he was a boy
Family honour must be protected at all cost, no scandal allowed
That was all so long ago now, a love, a world lost to me
All that remains now are saffron scented memories and dreams
A world of eastern promises lost to me forever
But I still remember those times, those words, that love, that touch
And as I tend the roses in my garden that I love so much
I still ask myself the same question every day and hear his voice
What was said to the rose that made it open, I need to know
Because this rose feels like it will never truly be open again
SPOKEN WORDS
Even after all these years I still remember every word of that poem
WHAT WAS SAID TO THE ROSE*What was said to the Rose
What was said to the rose that made it open
was said to me here in my chest.
What was told to the cypress that made it strong
and straight, what was whispered to the jasmine
so it is what it is, whatever made sugarcane
sweet; whatever was said to the inhabitants
of the town of Chigil in Turkestan that makes
them so handsome, whatever lets the pomegranate
flower blush like a human face, that is being
said to me now. I blush. Whatever put eloquence
in language, that’s happening here. The great
warehouse doors open; I fill with gratitude,
chewing a piece of sugarcane, in love with
the one to whom every ‘that’ belongs!
Words by Rumi - Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī
b 1207, d 1273
"Eastern Promises Broken" Copyright © Tom King 2022