If This Is Xanadu

By Ahmed Latif

This is commissioned by and dedicated to Ibrahim & Aisha. It was read at their wedding ceremony.

In 1797 Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote Kubla Khan, a poem he got in a dream. The dream was about a paradise, a heaven on earth called Xanadu.  The poem was published in 1816.

If I am the stream, then you are the sky when it rains.
If you are vibrant colour, then I am the canvas it stains.

If I am the blindness of night, then you are the break of day.
If you are the majesty of nature, then I am bear cubs at play.

If I am a dragon breathing fire, then you are my mountain cave.
If you are the bliss of liberty, then I am an unchained slave.

If I am the freshness of fear, then you are the freedom from want.
If you are a moonless sky, then I am the stars that taunt.

If I am the wings of the sea, then you are the ship’s anchor.
If you are the coolest breeze, then I am the sweetest languor.

If I am the shepherd’s flock, then you are the chanting crowd.
If you are the morning dew, then I am the evening shroud.

If I am a gladiator in Rome, then you are my Caesar.
If you are the revolution, then I am your fever.

If I am the wisdom of ancient ruins, then you are the innovation of a new treatise.
If you are the victor with the all spoils, then I am a humble defeatist.

If I am the truth on the run, then you are the open road.
If you are knowledge, then I am the wealth you have bestowed.

If I am the ostentatious ocean, then you are the conspicuous garden.
If you are the tools of the trade, then I am the stealing of a bargain.

If I am the heat of the sun, then you are the moon when its cold.
If you are a diamond in a coal mine, then I am the price of gold.

If I am the timeless desert, then you are a branch heavy with fruit.
If you are an imaginary flower, then I am its metaphysical root.

If I am the rashness of words, then you are the tranquility of thoughts.
If you are the briskness of the wind, then I am the tree that applauds.

If I am obstreperous banter, then you are a witty retort.
If you are a pacifist ideology, then I am a contact sport.

If I am a grand vista, then you are a peephole
If you are the state, then I am the people. 

If I am a sliver of hope, then you are the words that I wrote.
If you are a daring dream, then I am the words in your throat.

If I am a street, then you are an avenue.
If we are here, this must be Xanadu.