Stapenhill cemetery, Burton, once an anonymous place

Now holds the beauty of my friend’s face

Her mischievous smile, her twinkly eyes,

Her loving gaze, her words so wise

A place I never knew before

At once becomes a place I adore

The trees so strong and tall that guard the entrance I envy,

They now have a place so near

to this beautiful soul I hold in my heart, so dear.

They told her she had cancer many years ago,

And although I rushed to her side time and time again,

there’s something I would like you to know,

She never dwelt on her illness, felt sorry for herself or ever lost hope,

Nothing in her words said feel sorry for me,

I’ve been wronged; it’s time to mope

Or cry or lament, never ever did she despair,

In fact she held onto a hope,

That the God she prayed to day and night,

Would do what’s right,

This conviction helped her hold on so tight

To that which was not wrong but that which was so right

The love that she had for her Lord, so High

Instead she would ask about my loved ones,

Pray for them,

laugh at their random ways,

The time spent in her company

Went by swiftly, went by so happily

Oh, what I would give to have another day,

To hear her voice, her jokes, her scrunched up button nose

Her stories, her expressions, her cockney lilt,

Hours went by as we would chatter

Sitting in her good company, just having a natter

My eyes fill with tears when I think of life

without one of my most beloved friends,

Without the time to connect, share and simply time to spend…

Now whenever I miss her I will sit and reflect

And think about not visiting her during these last months gone by,

While I had the chance to prolong a loving goodbye

The truth is we think we have forever

Never thinking our time here will end, ever

When the fate of creation has already been written

Our days are limited from the day we are born

And now we will meet again inshaAllah on a beautiful morn,

I hope and pray our connection remains strong in the afterlife and beyond,

My joy will be in the gift of her beautiful company again…

Her wonderful smile, her embrace, once so strong,

Let’s bend our heads low and utter a supplication,

After firstly praising Allah, the Lord of the nations

And sending selewat on the best of creation,

We implore you, oh Rahman a mother’s wish to hear

Her duas so fervent, for her two young daughters dear,

Her hope for them to flourish and shine, in this world despite

Living without the beauty and strength of her love

A heartbreaking reality but something written up above

A fact we must accept, for His Might not only do we accept

We acknowledge that He knows Best,

That if we knew what He knew

We would choose what He chooses

We all win and nobody loses,

For it is the best way…

Oh Allah we ask for understanding and contentment

For our hearts not to sway,

To trust in the love you have for us,

For it is a love so strong it runs from a place deeper than a mother’s heart

From the Creator of this heart,

which we admire and love so much for its courage and selflessness,

A place of strength, and a place of restlessness,

We need to remember that Allah holds our hopes and fears near,

It is written in a record so clear,

That everything will end

We must trust that our hearts You will mend,

Life will run its due course and then end

And inshaAllah, one day, we will meet again….