Young Writers Society

~ just enspoilering so as not to interrupt the nice formatting & flow you've got here ~

These are all excellently crafted as usual Arc! You're bringing such rich depth and imagery and personality to each of these little heart-scripture snippets and really making the scenes come alive. It's amazing how many varied ways scripture addresses the heart and each poem feels like it's addressing another side and yet building off the last.

Poem two was a lovely bird reflection and then paired with the Quran verse and considering what it might mean to have a heart like a bird in relation to the poem was pretty interesting.

I really liked Hagar's poem, it's a wonderful story - and I liked the way you connected a modern pilgrim / follower's reflections in light of what she had experienced -
these lines especially were great: "here we drink from the spring / that was her prayer / here we smell the musk of revelation // beyond the barriers of self / its oneness"
^ I just love how that whole poem builds up from talking about Hagar's experience, then to the speaker's, then building up to these big concepts of oneness and connectedness between the two.

Definitely resonated with poem 13 a lot too; Christians start off our Lenten/Fasting season reflecting on the verse "from dust you came and to dust you will return" (Gen 3:19) - borrowing from the creation story when Adam is made out of the dust. And I think you've described the relationship between humility / repentance / and the Creator in that 2nd stanza is really nicely done and a nice juxtaposition of how we humble ourselves in repentance so the one who is truly holy can come encounter us.

The way you've layered images from deserts to date-trees in your last poem is really interesting too - and you definitely make these scripture passages that one might be tempted to just glance over become very vivid, alive, and thought-provoking.

Congrats on already making it half-way to 30! You're doing great! Looking forward to the rest of your poetry Arc!

@alliyah

Thank you so much for your kind words and feedback, alliyah! Really appreciate it, especially when it comes from you.

Even though some of these poems are about very specific moments and themes in the story of Muslim experience over the ages, I'm glad that you were able to connect with some of the broader religious themes and relate to them in your own way.

And yes, I'm happy I've been able to write fifteen so far. I think heart themes are pretty neat in religious poetry. Allow me to quote my personal favorite heart saying from the Christian tradition: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." :3

Thanks, again!