Poets are those artists with god gifted talent, who can describe so much in just a couple of sentences – which makes your mind blow! Poets are usually very peaceful people. They talk about their principles and we can gain a lot of knowledge from them. There are two basic types of poetry: Poetry that expresses spiritual love, love for God, and poetry that expresses love towards other people.
Many poets have lived throughout the ages and people still appreciate their work, many years after their death. Since I really love poetry, I have chosen to write about some poets, because I want people to remember them forever with respect, as I do.
Abdul Rahman Baba was a great poet of my native language, Pashto. He was born in 1655 in the city of Peshawar and he died in 1706, so he lived in the age of Mughal Empire (in the subcontinent of India). He has a large number of admirers with the same respect in Pashto literacy, as William Shakespeare has in English. Rahman was a Sufi (people who choose to live in islamic simplicity) and Dervish (adopted life in poverty, dedicating life to religion). He was always talking about a humanity without hate. In his poems he expressed his love and devotion to his God in many ways.
Some words from his poetry:
Make yourself alive on earth like a seed.
If you want to grow up, you have to be like soil.
Allama Muhammad Iqbal was a great poet, philosopher and politician, who was born in 1877 in Sialkot, Pakistan. He is considered as the backbone of Urdu language, although he had also written some poems in Persian and in Arabic. He is also known as “Musawir e Pakistan” (“artist of Pakistan”), because through his poetry he managed to awaken Muslims to fight for their rights against British Empire. Iqbal died in 1938 in Lahore, Pakistan.
Some words from his poetry:
When the spirit of Eagle is awakened in youth,
then they see their destination, above the sky.
Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, famous Persian poet, Islamic scholar and writer, was born in 1207 in Afghanistan and died in 1273 in konya Turkey. Most aspects of his life were linked with his teacher, Shams Uddin Tabrizi, one of the greatest islamic spiritual instructors of his era. Tabrizi was also a great poet and writer and he is very well known in rumi’s book called “Masnavi Sharif”.
Some words from rumi’s poetry:
The sum of my whole life is no more than these three sayings:
I was raw; I got cooked; I got burned.
Constantine P. Cavafy was a Greek poet, who was born in 29 April 1863 in Alexandria, Egypt and died on the same day of his birthday in 1933. Apart from writing poems, he had also worked as a public servant. While in Alexandria he was an important personality of the city’s literacy life. However, none of his poems had been published when he was alive, but only two years after his death.
Some words from “Prayer”, my favorite Cavafy’s poem:
A sailor drowned in the sea’s depths.-
Unaware, his mother goes and lights…
William Shakespeare was a playwright and excellent poet, who was born in April 1564 in a small village of United Kingdom. Shakespeare’s passion was theater, even since his childhood. He stopped attending school and started going to the theater with his friends, in his early life. Shakespeare moved to London at the age of 25 and started his acting and dramatist career. Apart from his 38 dramas, he wrote 154 songs and numerous poems. Some of his most famous plays are “Romeo and Juliet”, “Hamlet”, “Othello” and “The Tempest”. He died in 1616 in his native village.
Some words from “My mistress’ eyes”, my favorite Shakespeare’s poem:
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red…
Our society can learn a lot from poets. They send a message of peace, humanity and love. Sometimes I am very sad, as our generation tends to forget these poets and not understand their messages.
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