Issue Forty-Four - Summer 2024

Midnight Call

By Aaisha Umt Ur Rashid

At midnight
Away from the disruptive influence of mankind
I turn towards God
Thinking…
If only “He” would call to me
From the blueness of His skies
And smile
Assuring me that
My misery is His ecstasy,
My love’s loss, His love’s gain
And my pains are His secret trials
Then…would I bear it…
Bear it all
I would happily tolerate upon the verge of tears
All the misfortunes
And disasters of life
I would wait
And keep on waiting
Until
His mercy soothes my time-torn skin
Until
Amnesty is generously granted
and
His absolute compassion brings priceless rewards
For my wounded heart
That has endured friendlessness
For my soul
That has received countless scars
From the sharp sword of love
I would then feel
Undistressed
By people grown cold to me
By eyes turned away from me
Half-eased to know
That
The One mightier than I
Has willed and gifted me
The life I’ve lived
The tears I’ve shed
The pains I’ve borne
And that its just another assessment
Another test
To make me ready for a higher compensation
A greater blessing
A sweeter reward
So
At midnight
I look to heavens
Close my eyes
And wait…
If only He would call to me
If only He would smile
And say
That soon my pains and aches would cease…
And all my woes would end in peace!

Copyright 2024 Rashid

Aaisha Umt Ur Rashid is a poet, prose writer, editor and translator who is also Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at the Lahore College for Women University, in Lahore Pakistan. She is also the initiator of The Bridge – a unique venture that aims to connect writers around the globe. Her third anthology as editor has been published by Fiction House Publishers in Lahore, Pakistan. Titled The Bridge Volume III, the anthology features writers from Pakistan and Nigeria, showcasing powerful stories and poems on the theme of RACE. Recently she hosted a creative writing workshop focused on short fiction, specially designed for teachers and students of creative writing at our university and its affiliated colleges. In November, she will be working as a focal person for an International Conference that we are organizing in our University on Narratives of Resilience: Exploring Resurgence in Global Literature with online sessions to engage scholars from various countries.

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