He looked in the mirror and around,
            into his own,
He looked out the window and into
            the evening,
And, fearing strange words from strong
            thoughts,
Hid amid the storms that his heart ruled;
                         yet:
Had known he should not have travelled
            into that good night of thought,
   but could not reverse what his fate writ,
Hated to go there with the thunders he
            bore inside,
  but needed their roar to stay awake,
Felt heart-broken that he'd see home
              no more,
  lest it rained in him who thought in
              the dark!

Do we mistake love for lust?
Or leave out the truth even at price
               of loss?
Can man ever overcome his nature  and
               still breathe?
    

                             -by Hakim Kassim.
                             (c. 1989)