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)

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.

Succour

In the sub-zero temperatures

Of my Soul

You

My Love
Are an unending bonfire.

The Last Settlement

Water

They pronounce

And are absolutely right

Has shaped civilizations

Since times immemorial.

Mine started around your damp lips.

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.  

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.

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.