Jewel House Ghazal
“Jewel House Ghazal” by Rafique Kathwari tells a very emotional story of the writer missing their mother. It seems that the author is using the form, in part, to compare their mother to the rain. Rain is repeated eight times, and appears at the end of each couplet. From the background information, I can gather that “in the rain” is the radif of the poem, which would make the word prior to this phrase the qafia. For example, in the first couplet, the word “listens” and “presence” would be the qafia, while “in the rain” remains the radif (214). While the phrase “in the rain” is used at the end of almost all of the couplets, it changed to “to the rain” at the end of the fourth couplet. That same phrase is repeated in the first line of the poem, which makes me wonder why the phrase changed.
Kathwari interprets his yearning for his mother as the rain. This is evident through his use of comparison between his memory of his mother and the presence of rain. In addition, he repeats other words such as “God”, “Mother”, and “name,” which makes me believe that god has a significant place in either Kathwari’s life or his mothers. There seem to be a lot of correlation to God or spiritual connections. For example, Kathwari writes “ A rooster precedes the Call To Prayer At Dawn… (214), which is not explained but gives a connection to religion and God. The repetition of the word “name” does not have a clear meaning behind it. Overall, repetition is very important to Kathwari’s interpretation of the poem.
The tone of the poem is calming and almost sad it seems. The language Kathwari uses makes me feel at home and at peace, which I believe was the goal here.
Kathwari, Rafique. “Jewel House Ghazal.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art, Edited by Anne Finch and Kathrine Varnes, U of Michigan P, 2002, p. 214.
