War by Parvez Ahmad Naqash, Kashmir
The soldiers
without any personal enmity
haunted by some vicious spirit
cutting, maiming
and killing one another
the gory sight
bearing a testimony to
man’s innate stupidity
his cruelty to himself
the bombardment above
razing to dust
buildings along with inmates
men women children
of religions different and races varied
the charred bodies
getting an instant burial
under the rubble
somewhere else
the body pieces mashed in blood
flow high upwards
as if
Invoking Some One Above
to come to the rescue
of hapless people
while
the army generals rulers politicians
of warring nations
work out the strategies
to subject them
to humiliations unspeakable
and
to miseries unending
Residue
What remains
when passions ebb out
the intensity gone?
The residue remains
a queer mix of undefined feelings
One would hardly accept
One’s state of being
what prompted Adam to succumb
to Eve’s instigations
what prompted Eve to complement
to Satanic design
what prompted Satan to do
what he did
Cries by Samaa Qazi, Kashmir
Eyes puffed with tears
Heart wrenching in pain
I witness humans breathing last
For no fault of theirs
Men women young and old
One voice, one vision and one goal
Sacrifices, aspirations and hopes
Amidst death and desolation singing its chore
Sisters in wait of their naughty brothers
Mothers preparing food for the sons
Yet to come back for years
The only hope of father defies
With beloved devoid of the fancy ride
Far reached my glance with a sigh
Color of red shades the samay
Red that filch the lub-dub of a heart
and steals the fragrance from a flower
Still
Strengthen the faith and fight for the justice
Lit the lamp of peace
With the resolve and consciousness
Brace the thread and
fuse the pearls
to see a world beyond the whirls
The Sun is Out! by Mohammad Ameen Fayazi, Bandipora, Kashmir
The Sun is out!
Leaving behind
A waste land!
When the dark clouds
Shrouded the Sun,
The Western Winds blew,
The oceans rose
The earth shook beneath our feet,
Life lost its colors,
Death spread its fangs,
And it was a doomsday.
When an army of miseries came,
It feasted on our body,
Honor was buried in gutters,
Chains fell on the arms of Conscience,
Voices became voiceless
Plains concrete jungles.
When a newborn babe cried,
The mother was already dead,
A mystery took her life.
When early in the morning
In the Eastern horizon,
Beauty was born,
The black clouds came,
Shrouded it, and
DeathDarknessa Deep Void
Why and Why?
Nobody could tell me!
The MOULVI could not explain!
The PANDIT was all unreason,
A baggage of myths!
The CHURCH is still lost in empire
The PHILOSOPHER in vain ideas
The SCIENTIST in the visible
The POET in exaggeration
DUSTDOOMDESPAIR
A deep fragmentation.
Hearing many voices,
In search of just ONE,
A harmonious whole.
The Chariot of Time is a speed
Bringing me close to the Day.
I have done nothing!
Without any mark on the EARTH!
Misted by despair!
The Sun is out again!
After many doomsdays,
After long black nights,
A ray of hope shines in my eyes.
I woke up after a long nightmare.
Everything is normal outside.
The sun is out again!