I wanted to share with you a book I think is too good to keep to myself. It is the recently published debut anthology, Finally Back Home. It is the work of the talented young poet Irfaan Ihsan Jaffer, who is currently a Doctoral candidate studying comparative religion with the application of religious mysticism in the modern world at York University in Ontario, Canada.
I first became acquainted with Ihsan through his WordPress blog, iithinks, soon after I started my own blog. Although I would not say that I am greatly drawn to poetry, when I first read Ihsan’s poems, I was astounded at how this relatively young man was so spiritually wise. His poems expressed the depth of what I had experienced through my own spiritual journey, but found nearly impossible to articulate. I commented to him that he described “the indescribable,” a phrase he aptly adopted when he updated his About page.
Reminiscent of the great poet Rumi, his poems speak of the soul’s eternal connection to Source. As humans encased in this seemingly solid form on earth, we often forget, yet yearn for, that connection; our rightful path is a spiritual one. I expect that once he is “discovered” by folks who are fond of Rumi and Hafiz, he will become quite popular indeed.
Currently taking a break from blogging to concentrate on finishing his PhD, I miss in my inbox his daily reminders to stay soul-centered. Instead, I keep this slim volume of his work to hand, a wonderful collection of over sixty of his most popular poems. Finally Back Home is a book that you will reach for again and again. I highly recommend it! It is available at Amazon.com.
Here’s one of my favorites from the book:
The Place Where You Are Lying on a bed of grass Covered by the shade of stars In the footsteps of the sun The future and past have set Only this moment exists Existence is this moment In the still quiet You become its breath The peaceful rhythm of Truth Is the movement of your chest How can there be answers Where questions don’t exist? In this one and only moment Knowledge is unveiled Fear become a lie Worry disappears With your seeing heart You know everything is fine The place where you are Is exactly Where you need to be
Eliza Waters 
A lovely poem. I especially like the line “You become its breath”.
He has quite the way with words, doesn’t he? It was tough choosing just one!
I think you’ve chosen well, IMHO.
🙂
On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 7:58 PM, Eliza Waters wrote:
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Thank you, Eliza, for bringing a review of this beautiful book to all of us. I also miss the daily interaction, and wish Ishan well in his work! I miss his posts, as you do, and hope he will share with us all again soon. Best wishes, WG
wow..I headed over there and starting reading some of his poems….I could not stop reading them:-) I am not drawn to poetry either, but his stuff draws one in:-) thank you for sharing, I will be reading more….you are right he is very talented + gets it:-)
Yes, indeed!
Lovely poetry and thank you for recommending this. 🙂
You’re welcome!
Oh, I miss him too!!!! 🙂 He is my favorite poet! 🙂 How beautifully you describe his poetry! 🙂
Thanks, Line! Or is it Trini? Help! 🙂
It is both, so you can use the name you like the most! 🙂
Oh, this is a lovely poem!
And the book is full of them. I’ve never seen such consistent talent, one right after another!
I love this: “Only this moment exists …Existence is this moment…In the still quiet…You become its breath”
I still miss his posts too Eliza. 🙏
Sadly, I don’t think his family supported his poetry and put a higher value on his doctorate, job prospects and family life (he got married). Sigh, the world needs his voice so badly!
A part of me hopes he still shares with his wife and little one. 💕
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