Ghazal-To Him We Will Return

To Him we belong, and to Him we will return;
Hold on to this belief:  To Him we will return.

Man grows like a seed with arms spread unto the sky,
Then falling as a leaf:  to Him we will return.

I waited for the bride for whom my heart did yearn;
The wedding vow was brief: to Him we will return.

If you steal from an orphan, then what have you earned?
Repentance, thought the thief: to Him we will return.

“If you worshipped the Prophet, then what have you learned?”
Declared the first caliph, “To Him we will return!”

A cargo ship of pearls was tossed upon the storm,
Shipwrecked by the reef, to Him we will return.

The meaning of a ghazal is clear to discern--
Ecstasy knows no grief:  To Him we will return.