Story Of A Cloud

And then a gloomy cloud
halted and dissolved
into an ocean of tears.

Relieved after throwing
its fears, it flew with
the wings of merry birds
holding avenues of bliss
in their sights.

Roaming the skies
it was oblivious to
the sighs of unresting
waters below.

Enhaling air, its
chest turned heavy
with melancholy,
and it could think about
none, but pouring it again.

The cloud is a merchant,
trading pain with pain.

Summer Eventides

No matter how soaring the temperatures might get in the morning, I just love the summer evenings. The soothing shades extended by a dying sun hold a perfect lure for people to come out and take some sighs of relief from the scorching sun beams. I too am frequently stimulated by such a lure which I gladly accept as well courtesy my inclination to breath in open airs.

These days I’m loving my evening routine when I prefer to walk back hostel from job; a walk of about half an hour. On my way I come across children enjoying themselves playing cricket in the wider lanes of I-8 which constantly reminds me of our carefree childhood when cricket used to be the most important thing in our lives. A little more further a couple of caged pet dogs sitting in front of a house start growling and barking as if I have done them an enormous wrong. I wave at them happy with the thought that they are leashed. Going past the play ground I silently admire a good save by a hockey goal keeper practicing his skills, or a tiny football player showing some good dodging techniques. Next comes the market place where a bakery serves spicy cholay samosas quite hard to resist. Enjoying a plate of samosa or chat I share a good laugh with one of the workers who happens to be a very pleasant talker except when he calls me khan saab. The remaining distance of 10 or so minutes is spent in a bit of a self meditation as I discuss lots with me; the best friend of mine. I forgot to mention the company of the mild evening breeze which is showing quite permanently these days hearing my talk and whispering the songs of nature and beauty into my ears. My euphoria ends when I reach my blacked out room hit by the nuisance of load shedding.

Fire

Lo! the fire’s
here to emerge
from the womb
of time, where
hatred and contempt
in a warm coact,
decided its fate.

Don’t leave it grow
wild, for it can
turn us all into dust
and ashes.
Let us break it bit
by bit, and dissipate
it in the colder voids
of our hearts, for
the much needed warmth.

To my unseen

Up above in ether
a star winked at
a star, and a divine
stroke completed the
loveliest of pictures.
Then it gifted it to me.

A miraculous midnight sun
shone, whenever darkness
tightened the grips.

I boasted of holding
a treasure in my chest,
but the world required
logic, and you didn’t show
to prove them wrong.

My hands complained me too
for not entwining them with
yours, and my eyes ceased
to shine, asking for the reflection
of none but you.

Appear before me,
or I’ll begin to doubt
the sincerity of divine intentions.

They will love us,
roaming the universe
up to the ether.

Here we go again!

It has become quite a norm; the abnormality of the security situation in my troubled city called Mardan. Most of my fortnightly visits there have become nightmarish of late. In one of my recent ilogs here, I wrote in detail about a blast at a refreshment center in the cantonment area which took lives of a dozen of people including one of my very good friend. I was there to witness the scenes of horror and tragedy that befallen the innocent people of Mardan.

Hardly a month of comparative calm, and there we go again. Last night, at around 9 O’clock, I along with a friend was strolling past the ‘Taj Cinema’ around the busy ‘Pakistan Chowk’ area when a thunderous blast almost shook us off balance. A bomb went off inside the cinema hall and all in a sudden a giant smoke cloud engulfed the entire building. I could hear the wailing of injured from inside the hall. Hearing the thunder, people ran in all directions with mostly heading towards the place of the incident. I too wanted to go inside to try and help the injured but I had to obey my mother when she called me to reach home immediately. Within minutes Edhi ambulances along with the police vehicles reached the location to carryout the needful. Thankfully it didn’t take many human lives; 1 person is killed along with a few injured.

The incident is being termed an extension of the activities of a local religious outfit with connection to the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Taliban. In the recent past, they have blown a few Video Cassette Shops along with a Cable Operator’s office and some Internet Clubs, warning them of refraining from spreading ‘vulgarity’. The outfit holds a strict view of imposing Islamic concepts through force which a common Mardanian doesn’t agree with. News are also emanating about the mixing of criminals with the outfit to get a possible shelter and promote their heinous activities in the facade of religion. However the blast is unique in a context that most of the previous incidents save the second last one, took place either very early in the morning in the off business hours with least human activity, or were directly targeted towards the security personnel, be that Army or Police so the timing and target of the latest is obviously people oriented. The situation is even more tricky as the Provincial government have struck a peace deal with the millitants which is showing encouraging results in the Swat valley but the Federal government doesn’t seem to be satisfied with it courtesy the American pressure which wants wiping out militancy by forceful measures. A few Provincial Government officials have termed such sporadic violent acts as conspiracies from outsiders to destabilize the region along with the Provincial Government led by ANP.

The heart craves while the mind’s dead

The memory lane of my mind,

with all the extensions to eternity,

is blocked by a variety of reasons

and the gloom rules in its entirety.

Caught in the abyss, I grope for a clue

which could lead me at least to a glimpse;

a slightest of your smiles that you so lavishly

gave, or any of your tears; the little jewels

that I used to collect in my palm.

My woes it seems are willfully increased

by a contemptuous Fate, when it decided

to leave my heart untamed.

Lake View Park

The playful breeze
holding the reins of
tides either loosened
or pulled the strings

The pure white seagulls
dotted the all gray
waterscape, fluttering
and inviting sights

A boat with a resolve,
wrestled the might
of waves to
reach the shore

Somewhere a flute,
exhaled tunes
of Heer Waris Shah

The heart felt
a tinge of grief
looking at the waters
swallowing the
whole sun

Breathing spaces

I wish I had
a wider area
inside my chest, where
all my contrasting thoughts,
young and matured,
shy and assured
and fair and dark,
could peacefully coexist,
without encroaching upon,
each others territory.

The heart’s too tiny a place
not to suffocate
when they are intermingled.

I wish there were
more breathing spaces.

Life In Patches!

Like a cracking shore of ocean,
Quenched and left and quenched,
By water in each a little potion,
My heart is parched; a bit drenched

Sighting you, it leaps with bliss,
And drinks from the bowl of your eyes,
Wishing a longer life; a prolonged kiss,
But you leave, leaving it sobbing in sighs

Granting a life in the shorter whiles,
O’ love! is an act unkind I fear,
Come forth forever! crossing the miles,
The pain, the separation’s too hard to bear!

The Terrorist!

The thinking capacity,
of his brain,
is replaced,
by the inserted explosives,
ready to explode.

His hands were supposed,
to carry hopes,
of the nation,
but his grips on the rifle,
are firmer to shoot.

He is beneficial,
for some, when he kills,
and when trapped,
for others getting,
luscious bounties.

Isn’t he a puppet,
in the hands of,
the mighty puppeteers?

He too must be feeling,
the misery he inflicts,
upon others,
for he is a metamorphosed;
not a born terrorist