POETS’ CORNER

Poems forever

Who Has Seen the Wind?

By Christina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you.

But when the leaves hang trembling,

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I.

But when the trees bow down their heads,

The wind is passing by.

When did I stop being there?

By Majda Ulfat

I looked in the mirror,

My eyes met mine.

Nothing seemed fine

Perhaps it was a sign.

A strange gaze stared back

From the abyss,

Yet somehow

I knew it was me too.

A familiar face,

Trapped in an unfamiliar place.

I recognised everyone but me,

Gave them the shelter

I longed to receive.

I tended their wounds

And left mine bruised.

I abandoned myself,

And now I stand here,

Gasping for air,

Wondering

when I stopped being there?

When did I dig my own grave

So they wouldn’t have to?

When you are old

By Esha Bakht

You are old.

When you grow older.

When gloom settles over you.

When, in your leisure,

You recall the days gone by.

When the weather changes.

When everything changes.

When time flies by.

Burnt toast and tender hearts

By Abid Agha

We meant to make it golden crisp.

You watched the toast; I watched you.

And sometimes, between the glances,

The hearts kept beating.

When I lifted the slice,

It was darker than we planned,

Edges too crisp for chewing,

but still warm in my hands.

Hey… I’m sorry for the smoke,

for the timer we forgot,

While we were busy learning

the shape of each other’s quiet.

We could scrape it gently,

share the parts that didn’t char,

butter the ache and call it breakfast.

Some loves survive like that.

We stood in the same kitchen;

even burnt things were once soft,

and wanted to be enough.

Either way, I’m glad.

The other side

By Rumaissa Chouhan

I saw a solemn young lad with mellow eyes

Looking out a window at a world so bright

His crossed arms resting on the windowsill

Caught my eyes against my will

I could not help but look at him

A smile ran across his face that looked so grim

I followed his gaze and looked around

A sea of lights and flames I found

The one I came to drown in, with a desire to be engulfed by the flames

I wonder how I got caught in such cruel games

My eyes went back; the smile had vanished

His face grimmer, like all the joy was banished

He went back to tailoring peoples’ clothes

As his master reminded him to stay true to his oaths

It was a night of celebrating freedom

It was a night of singing and hum

I came for the lights but found darkness instead

The flames inflicted wounds that might be forever red

God moved my eyes to look at the other side

And show you through the words I write

Maybe that is all I can do

Maybe that is all I can do