"Footprints worth a life" [ghazal]

[note: this is a draft; composition of the poem is in progress.
Probably I will divide it into 2 separate ghazals. d.i.]

Does everything in life   always disappear?
must happiness & strife   always disappear?

must every lock of hair   that I've somehow grasped
by scissors or by knife   always disappear?

I seek your smile   I find your gaze   I yearn for
your kiss   my would-be wife   always disappears

in early spring   the kelly twigs   grow rampant
by autumn's end   each leaf   always disappears

first he removes the jewels   next his fingerprints
then of course   the perfect thief   always disappears

they erect new buildings   right in the heart of the city
it's a pity   your favorite dive   always disappears

sometimes the bass notes cease   sometimes the midrange
in deep night   the treble clef   always disappears

perhaps you've heard that tale   of a mythical mountain
so high   the peaks of Qāf   always disappear

through Brahma   all the worlds   emerge at morning
at night they all   through Śiv   always disappear

there's a heady joy in seeking for your traces!
must footprints worth a life   always disappear?

to see you is the happiness   of every eye
when you appear   tears' grief   always disappears

the wind was bringing news   that few discerned!
who says   her darling laugh   always disappears?

first you eat your arms & feet   still famished
at length   whatever's left   always disappears

for some   the thought of nakedness   is bootless
but clothes   for Lady Godiv   always disappear!

when the lad with the beesting destiny climbs trees
any care for the hidden hive   always disappears

Ardeo nurtured poetry   & singing
why must the drum & fife   always disappear?


Qāf (Arabic) : A fabulous mountain, supposed to surround the world and bound the horizon (it rests on the stone sarat[?], an entire emerald, the reflection from which, according to the poets, occasions the azure color of the sky). Per Platts dictionary.