I Didn’t Have the Heart to Give the Soul
Would that I’ve wished my soul
to rise with hers?
I was walking with the thought in the garden.
Synchronicity was floating
on the wings of the morning breeze
and dropped this leaf before me—
A butterfly’s last dive
into the heart of a crimson sun parasol,
reciprocated by a petaliferous final embrace.
How did this happen?
zs
Tasweer.mp3
The Pink Magnolia
The magnolia
your beautiful hands
graced pruning last year
is in the full bloom of its glory
unfurling its gorgeous petals
in your favorite hot pink.
They reach skyward
to show off to you:
Mommy, Mommy! Look,
pink petals, no hands!
Its branches frame the window
of your favorite room,
my new temple,
trying to steal a peek through
as the warm solstice rays
dance, deflect, and reflect off
the light-green olive-hued walls
looking for your countenance
to glow in smiling pink response.
Disheartened…
the petal cups gaze into the blue
in wonder:
‘Do they have trees up there?’
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Jahantab Alam Stanizai
Jahan was born November 15, 1952 in Kabul, Afghanistan. A loving mother, an intellectual father and a house full of brothers and sisters gave her a nurturing, challenging place to begin her journey. She began her education at Rabia Balkhi Lycee, one of the finest girls schools in Kabul.
Jahan met Zaman Stanizai at Kabul University, and within months of their marriage they came to the Untied States, where she earned her B.A. in English Literature from the University of Washington in Seattle. Though Jahan returned home after college to help her war-torn country, political turmoil and crisis forced them to seek asylum back in the U.S.
In Gratitude
On behalf of my beautiful children and myself I thank you all from the core of my being for your deeply-felt expressions of friendship and support during these trying times as our family adjusts to a new reality in which Jahan’s spiritual presence refuses any recognition of her physical absence. The past is just a ‘tense,’ while the present is a reality of her undeniable presence as her soul fills every measure of the transient temporality of our lives. She is and always will be in our hearts. She is.
So many of you extended your hands we pressed in friendship, you lent your shoulders we leaned on for emotional support, and you opened your hearts that turned our otherwise deserted world bloom in efflorescence. We are grateful for your letters of support, for your poems of inspiration, for your e-mails of sympathy, for your phone calls of offering help, for extending a helping hand in the hospital and at home, for bringing food and gifts to Jahan, and for showing your love with beautiful bouquets of flowers that withered to seed lasting friendships that Jahan's family will always remember.
Thank you.
The Stanizai Family
Lasting Last Letters to Jahan
There are no words to thank you all sufficiently for the many beautiful cards and letters you sent to Jahan expressing your love for her in her final days and to her family for support and in sympathy. We acknowledge your feelings wholeheartedly. Considering the wonderings of yours thoughts expressed so beautifully, it behooves us not to share them in excerpts with those who unveil Jahan's website for the first time.
In the expression of beautiful thoughts some good friends have really gone the extra mile and have paid their tribute to Jahan's spirit through artistic and animated notecards.
To see these notecards please
Poetic Expressions
The following poems are offered, presented, or dedicated to Jahan’s spirit.
On Sunday, August 25th Jahan Stanizai was eulogized by family and friends in a gathering of the celebration of her life. The events was hosted by the Islamic Center of Southern California and attended by many friends of Jahan from all faith communities adhering to the one common denominator—humanity.
For the text of the eulogies click here
CondolencesThe Email Log
We have been inundated by the hundreds of beautiful letters, cards, phone calls, and emails. Your words assiduously attended to our emotional comfort and deserve an equally heartfelt response. This is our response, appreciation, and gratitude to each and every one of you. As a tribute to Jahan’s free and freed spirit, the messages of condolences are posted in this E-mail Log as an indication that she was admired much by many.To read the Email Log click here
