Artificial Eden: The Void

" Everything that is given to you is only the material of this life and its vanity. What is with Allah is far better and everlasting."(The Quran) We cannot escape the Void through idle flights of fancy. We cannot escape the Void through animal ecstasies. We can only be still and pray for absolution. We can only be still and penetrate the Light within. I hope and pray that the hidden face of God Will finally emerge from its seclusion. And the Veil of illusion will slowly lift, From this artificially inseminated Eden Only such a seismic event will Reveal to us the emptiness Of our times; only then will The fleeting pleasures of this world; Of vanities and virtual phantasms Pale into insignificance and dissolve Like evening shadows into an abyss Of perpetual and nullifying darkness. It seems that the worldly delights of this hedonistic ‘ paradise' Cannot bring us the divine peace that ‘ passeth' understanding; Cannot bring us into a deep and joyous presence with the Other; Cannot remove this Vale of Tears; part of life's rich fabric. The hidden God; the fabled Holy Grail Is ours to uncover It is the purpose of suffering In the face of the Void; To teach us grace and warm humility Despite our anguish. We should not deny it By a thousand desperate kinds of flight. For the fruits of suffering (healed by Love's gentle caress) As they grow from tender vine: Are wholeness, compassion, A deep sense of awe and wonder; A heightened sense of spirituality; A sense of belonging; Of human solidarity From which we have been distracted From which we can recover.