NaPoWriMo: April Poems

In the month of April which is dedicated to poetry Samia Meraj curates some poems for Kashmir Lit. The poets featured here are Inshah Malik, Omair Bhat, Sobia Bhat, and Samia herself. Scroll down to read:    Inshah Malik 1 Heart aches for summer, And you aren’t around I had asked … Read more →

Absolute

Jhilmil Breckenridge   Does it serve you well? The white robes, giving sermons from high. Do you sleep well in the inky night? When your voice instigates rivers of red  in valleys of peace? It is heard that God’s words were to be read and interpreted. You are the interpreter … Read more →

Sorry and other poems

Ruhan Madni Naqash Sorry  Sorry for not being your “lovely handsome Kashmiri boy; beautiful Kashmiri babe”- I’ve been very busy dying on the roads with these polka dots you make on my body with your guns- I’ve been very busy crying Freedom. Freedom. Freedom for the walls for not being … Read more →

The Doomed Gravedigger

Munawar Hussain “Meesum, see! A deluge of ‘likes’ is hitting my facebook post. Hold this cigarette, I will show you a trick to gain more likes.” “Are you nuts, what if someone would spot me while holding the cigarette?” “Oh man! Oh man! See I have re-liked my own status. … Read more →

Ammi

Rehmat Malik I wrote this poem about a year ago when I was visiting “Azad” Jammu-Kashmir, my mother’s homeland. I wanted to explore generational differences in understanding the Kashmiri struggle for Azadi (liberation) and solidarity across the Line of Control. I wanted to write about my mother, a Kashmiri who … Read more →

Saffron

“These infidels cannot insult us like this. If you have the courage, come and face us out in the open. You cannot tie down a speechless animal and think you have beaten us…” By Mirza Waheed She did not make much noise. But I knew, even in my sleep, something … Read more →