Metamorphoses: Poetic Discourses

By Saad Ali

Metamorphoses: Poetic Discourses is the 2nd book of poems by Saad Ali. It is a testimony to the quartet of the forces of love, hate, fear and courage as the begetter and annihilator of our existence and transformations. The poems are born as aficionados of the respective quartet. While reflecting upon why and how this quartet influences our being, the poems encourage us to embrace life with all her facets and live as even proactive actors of the dialectical phenomenon that metamorphosis is, for the manifestation of all, small and big, is an embodiment of some form of metamorphosis.

This book of poems is an instance of sharing of Saad’s experiences of love, hate, fear and courage with everyone in the world. It is an invitation to a collective and individual contemplative odyssey. And an invitation to making a difference in our own and others’ lives as conscious beings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Oct 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9781728392301

Saad Ali

SAAD ALI (b. 1980 C.E. in Okara, Pakistan) is an existential philosopher–poet. He has been educated and brought up in Pakistan and the UK. He earned his BSc and MSc in Management from University of Leicester, UK. By profession, Ali is a consultant (marketing, communications and research), educator, and lecturer/trainer/mentor by profession. Ali possesses a broader world view, which is a result of his experiences gained from having lived in a variety of cultural settings such as Asia, Europe, Middle East and Australasia. The cogs of his existential machinery are oiled by the muses of arts. He was embraced by the muses (of poetry) in his infancy—at the raw age of 12. The main components of his poetic discourse include: contemplation and satire. Some of his influences include: Vayasa, Homer, Ovid, Saadi, Rumi, Ghalib, Nietzsche and Tagore—to name a few. Previously, he has authored three books of poetry i.e. Ephemeral Echoes (2018), Metamorphoses: Poetic Discourses (2019) and Ekphrases: Book One (2020). He is a regular contributor at The Ekphrastic Review—a premium journal for ekphrastic verse and prose. His current projects include: translating the poetry of Bulleh Shah (Sufi poet), Allama Muhammad Iqbal (philosopher poet) and Faiz Ahmad Faiz (philosopher poet) from the Punjabi, Urdu and Farsi (Persian) languages into the English language. He is fond of travelling by train and exploring cities/towns on foot. He is fond of learning different languages. In particular, he appreciates the Persian, Chinese and Greek cuisines. His favourite sport is putting his gray matter to test at chess. To know more about Ali and his work, please visit his website at https://www.saadalipoetry.com, or his Personal Blog on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/owlofpines.

Book preview

2019 Saad Ali. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   12/11/2019

ISBN: 978-1-7283-9229-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-9230-1 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Book Design by Saad Ali

Cover Design by Saad Ali

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

For my mother, Memoona Anwar

—The Bravest

One who is free from desire,

is free from fear.

— Siddhartha Gautama

"Where have I come from?

Where did you pick me up?"

the baby asked its mother.

She answered half crying, half laughing,

and clasping the baby to her breast,—

"You were hidden in my heart

as its desire,

my darling.

…

For fear of losing you

I hold you tight to my breast.

… ."*

— Rabindranath Tagore

(excerpt from ‘The Beginning’)

__________

*Tagore, R. (2002), Collected Poems and Plays of Rabindranath Tagore, Rupa: New Delhi, p. 57.

Contents

Preamble

Lila* and Maya†

Flow of Flux

Mind

A Definition of Being

But Of course, Human

Sequence

Cradle of Nuisance

Fair Deal

But We Call It So

Titles

Black and White

Difference

Self and Selflessness

Silence

Existence

Moments

The Dream

Knowledge and Ignorance

Teachers and Lessons

Instantaneous and Spontaneous

Inside the Other’s Head

Twice

But Of course: All Dreams, Dreamers and Dreamt

Where Do You Go?

Imagination

Paradigm

Madness

Love

Poetry and Poet

A Love Poem

She

Expectedly Unexpected, Unexpectedly Expected

Letters

Twelve Ante Meridiem

Life at 2 A.M.

Noah

Poetic Discourses

A Talk

If There was a Chance!

Realism, Idealism

Distractions

Particle Afloat

Game of Heads

Lulu’s Garden of Eridu

Mayfly

Inquisitiveness

You are a Man!

Tranquility

Past

Pain

Memories

Distant Memory

Restlessly Relentless World

Irony

Behind the Curtains of Minds

Refuge

The Saviour

Enough

Remembrance

The Egalitarian

Acknowledgments

Preamble

Indeed, it is the quartet of love, hate, fear and courage that influences and determines all occurrences. Even a mere tear, giggle and whisper contains a plethora of materials to preach, only if we spare a moment to see, listen and