Author: caroline

The Power of Pilgrimage and Prayer

The Power of Pilgrimage and Prayer

We were lost, confused and in the dark,

We traveled to Haifa, to the covenant Arc,

Baba took you by the hand,

To this Holy place, in this Holy Land…

Your brother and I patiently stayed,

In a little room, where we read and we played,

We waited and waited and wondered how long,

And decided to come and find where you’d gone…

As we walked through the gardens hand in hand,

I looked, I saw you but didn’t understand,

For under the shelter of this golden domed shrine,

In this Holy place in the golden sunshine,

Between those two grand Holy doors,

There you both were on the cool marble floor,

Baba sat with his back against the wall,

Watching over you as you laid face down on the floor…

When I asked Baba what had occurred,

I could hardly believe his every word!

His intention had been to walk nine times around,

But this Holy shrine had drawn you to ground,

After only three times before his hand you let go,

For what reason the Lord God did only know…

I asked and wondered why Baba felt it best,

Instead of inside, leaving you there to rest?

He took your brother’s hand and with no further talk,

Continued to finish his nine lap walk…

They took some time out, went inside to pray,

I stayed sitting where you’d chosen to lay,

I was gazing at you and the beautiful blue sky,

Assuming inside would be more powerful to lie…

Then it struck me as you lay on the floor,

Where you had laid was between the two doors,

Of the two Holy men laid to rest in this shrine,

You’d be safe on your own with no company of mine!

I continued to immerse in this heaven on earth,

And trust this was God and His handiwork,

Baba and your brother passed us five times more,

The sixth corner they turned, you woke and stood from the floor!

Was this a miracle on the the last lap of nine?

You woke from this trance and induction Devine?

No other explanation am I prepared to believe,

Im sure laying there Holy healing you received…

Baba suggested I take you inside,

Of this Golden domed shrine with your eyes open wide, 

In the beautiful gardens they would stay,

As I took your hand and we went in to pray…

On the Persian carpets I sat in awe,

With you sat on my lap looking around the wall,

There were beautiful paintings, carpets, fresh flowers 

There was no limit to this Devine moment of ours,

You sat very still, as opened my book,

As I read the prayers and my commitment I took…

‘Oh God please help me!

I know not what to do!

There’s no one to help me!

I only have you!

I promise I’ll do anything for my baby to speak

Please guide me and strengthen me, I feel so weak!’

The scent of the rose petals on the alter I smelt,

I walked over to the alter, holding you as I knelt,

I kissed the alter with gratitude and love,

Thankful for this moment to commune with above.

Baba and I, in a state of disbelief,

Took you both to the park to play and debrief,

What that day would initiate we could never have known,

And the power of prayer has undoubtedly shown,

Because I know I’ve been guided all the way,

To guide you to become who you are today… 

Now it’s my turn to deliver my part,

The promise I made from my broken heart,

To help others and share what I’ve learned and been through,

To enable and empower them, have aspirations like you,

This is my purpose, my passion, my vow,

This is my promise I must fulfill now…

Caroline Seyedi (May 19th 2018)

A Poem of Hope for Parents receiving a Diagnosis for their Child

It was dark, it was deep, it was grief, it was hell,

It was lonelier than drowning in the deepest dark Well,

Looking up from that place, the sky seemed so far,

Like the tiniest faintest universe star.

I couldn’t understand what I was hearing,

My beautiful child, my love so endearing,

How could this be? 

What did I do wrong?

How came this nightmare from a lullaby song?

What did this mean? 

I didn’t understand!

Which doctors will sort this? 

Who’ll take my hand?

Who’ll show me the way to sort this all out?

Who will explain what this Autism’s about?

Nobody could beyond it’s name,

Nobody led me, nobody came…

So down at the bottom of this deep dark pit, 

I rummaged around for the pieces to fit,

But none of them looked familiar to me,

None of them shared any colours you see…

They were all different shapes, from a different world,

To the one I had planned for my little girl,

What did this mean, my dreams had been shattered,

Nothing else registered, nothing else mattered…

At first I wanted to take us away, 

Away from this world to one far far away,

But I couldn’t do this, leaving others behind,

They kept us here and were a constant remind,

That there must be some answers, some knowledge somewhere,

Something to grasp in this cold dark dense air…

So slowly I clutched at the straws that I found,

And slowly but surely pulled myself off the ground.

I saw glimmers and sparkles,

resembling fairy dust light,

I heard words that registered in the coldest dark night,

I felt small quivers of hope deep down in my gut,

And I bounced in and out of this hopelessness rut…

Then one evening at bedtime, in the kitchen she came,

Signing for milk, like it was all just a game!

My excitement and shock I showed her with praise,

Her efforts and confidence not wanting to phase,

Rushing to warm milk in the microwave,

Rushing to reward her for the communication she gave, 

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! 

This was her way of saying her first word!

This all happened at the age of two,

Twenty years later, I can’t believe I’m telling you…

There’s lots to fill in for the in between,

But for now believe me, she’s on the university scene!

It’s been a hard long haul out of that deep dark Well,

But it’s been worth every moment to get out of that hell,

To see her progress, succeed and shine,

She’s reaching her potential, this princess of mine…

Now if you’ve found yourself where I once was,

I want to give you hope and a little buzz,

I want you to know you can do it, it’s true,

Your child can progress and make steps forward too.

There’s no quick solution but there’s so much you can do,

To enable your child and empower you.

Everyone is different and can reach their potential,

And remembering this, is so very essential…

Take time for yourself and look after you,

Because you need your health to see this through,

And when you look back one day it will seem,

Less of a nightmare and much more of a dream…

– Caroline Seyedi