Thank you

By: Umm Salihah

Thank you

What do you say when
Someone gives you a flower
big enough that it pulls a moon
close and it is so
pretty and never the same
when you look at it
again and
Someone holds it
gently for you,
rotating it for you to drink
in all its beauty, smell
every perfect crevasse, and
Someone keeps
holding that flower
just for you and not just
you and everyone
can see it (cause it’s so big)
sparkling in sun
beams, glimmering in moon
beams, and life
beams in every color and
Someone holds it
near so it shades
you when it’s
hot and wraps
its fragrance close
when you are
cold and
it contains the smile
of every rose the joy
of every child
and every parent
so masterful
it holds in the ugliness
of every murder the remains
of every war
and every heart
so beautiful
you keep living
anyway and
Someone holds it
gently carefully
patiently
all your life waiting
to hear
His servants’
“Shukrillah
for this wondrous Earth!”
-Umm Salihah, November 2002

Photo credit: random cliché

Umm Salihah is the first of a line of five Muslimahs born and raised in Upstate New York. Under the leadership of her parents, she and her sisters have all been striving together in the path of guidance, bi idhnillah. She developed a freelance copywriting and editing service for businesses and authors about 7 years ago, and also loves gardening (flowers, mostly), baking, and decorating. She asks all her sisters to please make du’a for her and her family.