Month: July 2008

likhna itna aasan kab ho paya hai,
kis janm ka karja is janm mein chukaya hai
jo bhi thi baatey unkahi
kyun jaakar biyaban mein
tumney unko aakhir
bina kahey sunaya hai

baat itni hi nahin thi, jo khmaosh reh leta main
jaaney kitney janmon ka bhoja tha,
jo kandhey par ab tak uthaya hai
atma ko koi daag na lagey bilkul
is liyey is shareer ko jinda hi dafnaya hai

tum kisee milan ka jikra ab kyu karo
is kabra par kaisey aaj
kisee sufi ki ibadat na ho
mainey apni yadon par se
pehra ab aakhir hataya hai

jisko bhi aana ho aayey yaad,
koi aksa hai jisko ab  mainey mitaya hai

a08

why has your smile been coated with  moist air

heavy and hanging just outside the window pan

neither falling down the branch of an aged tree

nor flying into the clouded sky

has it been stuck on the wall like a poster

on which your father has pasted all the bills

or is it the countsheet

on which some one ticked all the laughters harvested

from a garden soon to be mowed

 when life was a comma,

you put a full stop,

to the smiles that could have fertlised

garden all around

the aroma of  incense i burnt

to welcome you

has extingusihed

but i will roll

more sticks and light them again

will you come

why should you shout when

i am deaf any way,

i wil not hear even if you blow bombs

or just politely knock at my door

i know

what i think you want to say

since i know

why do i mke effort to hear you

when the fires engulf all the trees on road
and water in the steams flowing
alongside dries up
how will i insulate
you from the splashes of blood
when there is violence all around
ho will i was your stains
you may try to catch the streams
but then will you be able to hold them

i only hope
when you can turn the tides
and change the direction in which streams can flow
you will
keep the most thirsty in your heart
the ones whose wounds need to be washed first
will be allowed to take a sip
first

may your desire to be at hand
for those who are innocent and and are still hurt
tie a band
around the wrists of all those
whose fingers may tremble
when you love them
ceaselessly
because they may have hurt you
regardless

how can there be peace

when so many remain

outside the fold

of all the favours we show

all the considerations in a row

will we stop and pause

will we ask and then look for cause

of this violence all around

the loud signals of hurt unbound

will you catch the stream,

will you stop the breeze

will you block the sun

will you shake the trees

why will you ask me this

why will you explore all that

which does not have all the  colours

which does  not spread shadow under the sun

smile, and chat, who knows

when you will need us

when will you need to abandon

the legacy of prejudices

the game of snubs

no life is wasted here,
no flowers will decay
no sound will be muted here
every body will get his say

will you stop this mayhem
will you listen for a while
will you walk along a few steps
will allow bad memories only to pile

will you laugh the same way again, o little boy

will you listen to the provocative advice

 to turn your face away

when we are not so loud

and thus may not hear the feeble voices

or will you rebel and assert

the right you have to partake

in the bubbles of joy that emerge in the drying pond

in the back of our house

will you sow the seeds of fruits

eaten by you on the road side

who knows, travellers who are hungry

 years after we are gone

may  eat them

remeber blessings count for more

always

even now and so in future

i must start talking to you every day

my dear little one

you might complain, some day, afterall

how could a day turn into night

without metmophosis of our fondness

into some flowers

whose fragrance reached the shores of the island

on which you had been allowed to play

and walk

but i will not build a bridge across,

lest your garden loses its sanctity

swim this side some day

when you wish to partake

the manure which made these flowers bloom

whose fragrance you like so much

i hope