I Am A Small Learner Poem by Mohammad Younus

I am a small learner
...because I am not as yet done with my studies,
I shall be an advanced learner when I am as old as my teacher is.

My teacher will come and say,
'You are always late to the school, bring your assignments well done.'

I shall tell him,
' Do you not know I am not as yet as learned as you are?
And I must not have assignments any more.'

My teacher will wonder and say,
'He can leave his assignments if he likes, for he is to learn still more'

I shall turn about and walk to the central library...
where the stock of books by great scholars and ancient manuscripts is thick.

My murshid will come rushing up to me and say, 'You will get lost, my dear boy;
let you read yourself the book of knowledge lying in your chest'

I shall answer,
'Can't you come with me there to teach me how to thumb the pages?
See, murshid, I am not as big as you are?
I cannot go to the inner library alone.'

Murshid will say,
'Yes, you can go wherever you like, outside you.
But you cannot go to your inner library without your guide'

I will say,
'I will always follow you to wherever you like, even as far as to China? '

Murshid will say,
'Naughty boy, don't you know, you are as good as your murshid,
The same books of knowledge are inside both of us'

I will say to myself,
'Before I go inside alone, I must first receive training and development from my murshid,
Then only can I decipher the hidden secret written in the coded language.'

Murshid will say,
'Lo, these are the secret keys to decipher the books, for now you are as big as I am'

Mykoul