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Saturday 29 November 2014

Long Distance Relationship

 Late night
She calls me
Whispers into her phone
As if I am sitting next to her
"Don't leave me, Ever!"

A tone that reminds me of spring in my land.

- So much depends on a silly phone call
Dialed with Love.


(for William Carlos Williams)

Thursday 20 November 2014

Prayer

She saw me weeping
Held me close to her body
Raised her hands in the air
And started praying:

"O Allah
Let the future career of Grief 
Be a disappointment in Kashmir"

It made me smile
While She wept.

Tuesday 18 November 2014

Succour

In the sub-zero temperatures
Of my Soul
You
My Love
Are an unending bonfire.

Thursday 13 November 2014

The Last Settlement

Water
They pronounce
And are absolutely right
Has shaped civilizations
Since times immemorial.

Mine started around your damp lips.

Wednesday 12 November 2014

Living or Dead

The new high-heeled sandals
Had bruised her feet
Everywhere.
It seemed as if veins would come out
Donating blood
Any moment now.

Somehow
She likened it all to Kashmir
And the women in it.

Living or Dead.  

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Hotel Apna Kashmir - Since 1947

They make us eat
Guns, bullets and grenades 
They make us drink blood, tears and scars
In abundance.

However
We still manage to maintain
An appetite for food.

Kashmiris always -
No matter how ferocious, powerful or crazy they are -
Respect their guests/hosts.

Saturday 1 November 2014

Misprint

Whether a mere coincidence
Or the dedicated workings of holy fate
But it all happened on the same day.

The day
I lost all interest in designing words
They published henna on her hands.