This appeared in the first issue of Insight in 1989, though it was actually a rework of something written some time before in a project for the Islamic Foundation that never came to anything which appears somewhere else on the site along with other similar verses under the title 'Signrhymes'. I was also going to use it in an education resource pack for Strathclyde Regional Council (also elsewhere on the site) - yet another project that didn't happen.
 

THE WINDS

In between the earth and sky,
     the winds are turning round,
Spreading pollen in the flowers,
     and seeds across the ground,
Pushing round the clouds above,
     swirling in the fallen leaves,
Scattering the bonfire ashes,
     blowing smells upon the breeze.
Carrying us across the sea,
     smoothly sailing us home again,
The winds that blew for Solomon,
     heralding new life with rain.

But gentle summer winds can turn
     to winter's gales that freeze,
Drowning ships in giant waves,
     destroying houses, felling trees.
When we see the trees uprooted,
     do we see how weak we are
Compared to air that moves about us
     by the power of Allah.
Is what sweeps us off our feet
     bringing mercy to the land.
In the turning of the winds
     are signs for those who understand.

 

QUR'AN REFERENCES

2.164 / 15.22 / 30.46 / 18.45 / 14.18 / 51.41 / 12.94 / 42.33 / 21.81 / 38.36 / 34.12 / 7.57 / 3.117 / 100.22 / 17.69 / 54.19 / 22.31 / 25.48 / 27.63 / 45.5