The Poems of Alyarrah
Dervin poet Alyarrah Mahaat was a celebrated poet whose works captured the attention of the Caliphs of Maj’Dul. Though she was the Court of Coins’ official Court Poet for only a short while, several of her works are still in circulation.
“The Two Gardens”
For many of the nomadic Dervins, the imagery of a garden or oasis is a powerful symbol of life and restoration.
Near the edges of the Known World
Are the two gardens of the gods
To the East is
the Garden of Fulfilled Dreams
And in the West,
the Garden of Your Desires
Between night and day, we visit
One or the other as we sleep
And happiness lays somewhere
between them
Not all in one
Nor all in the other
Somewhere in the sweetly scented
lands between
Come, sit beside me in my dream
We will stand at the crossroads of
The gardens of the gods
To decide whether we
have been fulfilled
And so to travel East
Or whether we have but desire
And so to travel West
If you are with me,
know that I go East
For all my dreams are fulfilled
And yet
And yet, if you would not go East,
Then I would follow you West
Into the Garden of Your Desires
“The Bard’s Tale”
The djinn supress music in all its forms whenever they can. To the Dervins, music is simply another form of expression. Many of Alyarrah’s poems are set to music. In lands occupied by the djinn, the Dervins may simply tap out the beat of the song rather than sing it.
We celebrate our lives in song
And tales of days of old
With words that sound a clarion
Or whisper from the soul
Those who have gone on before
Their words we still can hear
Through each lark’s trill and
stream unstill
Distant refrains unfold
Out music is in poetry
And magic is our myth
Their old songs and our new
entwine
The silver with the gold
Many seasons may have passed
And yet we can’t forget
Their touch, their voice,
their soft caress
Their stories yet untold
“Desert Nights”
This appears to be a fragment of what is surely a longer piece.
Warm sands of the desert
Golden, silky sands
Pour through my fingertips
When cupped into my hands
This page is missing.
You will learn much just by
Sensing what is around
Feel the sand beneath your feet
A silent battleground
The salty tang of the sea
Breathe in the scent of sweet dates
The cries of the wild fill the air
Listen! Be still, and wait.