Poems from Kashmir

By Ahmad Rayees

Unsettled Agonies

We lived — yes we lived in confinement

We lived in solitary confinement…

We were living in it yesterday and today.

We may be living in it tomorrow also.

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I looked at the darkness that slowly grew around me

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Spring suffocated in the gardens.

Flowers died on branches on their own

As the unborn died in the womb of a dead mother.

Faraway a little bird fluttered in pain and agony…

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I sadly captured the hues of autumn…

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The wild wind blew away a heap of dried leaves

And dust swept away dreams of daffodils,

Withering the petals to be embraced by winter.

Naked branches helplessly stretched out their longings towards the sky

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I sat alone looking at the turbulent future in time

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The river saturated into white snowy silence…

And the lonely boat half drowns into that cold aloofness.

Like the half- widows — half-dead, and half-alive

Suspended in life with a trickle of hope and deathly grief

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I sat down on the horizon and looked at the sky.

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It seems the Earth was angry with the sky

Just as the moon was angry with the sun and the stars.

Maybe Nature itself is slowly coming to a halt   

Oh God,  are you also in pain and despair?

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The countries busily build walls of hatred and tyranny

While little Alan slept endlessly on the shores of the great sea

The angels are whimpering and awakening their dead ones

Remember that no amount of candies can wash away their pain

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I’m still walking through the rubble of the city of hatred —

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Here every soul is thirsty and everybody is hurt in the mayhem.

Here everyone seems to be oppressed  and enslaved.

Here everyone seems to be lonely, the rich and the poor.

Here everyone seems to be strangely normal and silently crying…

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I searched like a wailing morning breeze of the mountains.

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Today I know the pitcher of love is broken and dried

Today I am standing here and waiting for you my Prophet!

Bring us the magical verses that will melt our stoned heart.

Sing for us the song of sparrows, the songs of love and peace.

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Sing for us the song of life, song of your eternal gardens……

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Warrior Of Light: A Tribute To My Mother

 Mother, Oh mother, you are my  guardian angel, epitome of love.

All mothers are precious to their children, she’s the goddess of life

And my mother is my everything , she’s is the light of my eyes

Without her I will not exist, without her I will not sustain

My mother is the most courageous woman of our valley

She’s is the most ferocious , most beautiful angel of this paradise

Like the torrential waters of Jhelum, she went beyond the mountains and valley for truth

She’s is not afraid of anything or anyone when it comes to protect her children

Come soon mother the home is desolated in your absence

Reminiscence of your caring persona , your touch , your smell ,

Again and again resonating the sense of loss and sense of vacuum

Now we are the orphaned lambs of the meadows lost without our shepherd

When will you be back mom , Eid is here Muharram is gone

Years are passing in gloom without you in our life

Our screams are suppressed our pain is been ignored and forgotten

Our prayers, our shrines are vandalised by pellets and bullets

But your voice echoed in us , your shadow loomed around us

Your infinite love and compassion for humanity is our strength mother

You keep the promises of tomorrow , fighting injustice alone in the dark cell

Your persistence your determination is the vast silent Himalayas

Tall as the heavenly seraph slayer of evil, hold us in your encompassing wings

Mother you are my rock, you are my sword and shield

Mother come for once, make me sleep inside your warm “Phiren”

Make me sleep next to your heart, the pot of red embers.

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Rayees Ahmad is a budding writer and poet from Kashmir. He has bachelor’s in mass communication and masters in Peace and Conflict Studies. He hopes to add a new colour to Kashmir and the conflict it faces through his poetry. He has written many poems and articles on the Kashmiri diaspora. 

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