petrified forests, ossified selves

cascading leaves
wind whipped clouds
floating faces and forms
words whipped into frenzied submission
long haul truck's dusty imprint
highway hypnosis
dreamy mirages of the subconscious

yesterday's half full moon
today's full sun
cascading ruminations
over searching shadows

kal shubb adh mah ki chandni thi her soo'
aaj puray suraj ki tamazat
kal bhee woh thaa yaheeN
aaj bhee hay woh kaheeN

id or ego, fact or fiction
sense or sensibility
who'd tell
the moonlight serenades which moon
the shadows nurture which truth
the dark runs from which light
why is death aloof and oblivious

ana, ya wajood,
feh'm ya ubhaam
yaqeen ya wiswas
koi batai humaiN
chandni bhala kis chandini maiN khailti hay
chand kis chanda pay mit'ta hay
shama kis sa'aye ki muntazir hay
andhera kis chiraagh ko dhooNdta hay
yeh ujala kyuN itna muheeb hay
naz'r kyuN naz'r aatee nahiN
yeh shish-jehat tariki
kyuN ujalay ko yu'N jakaRti hay
shikanj e zeest maiN

in the humid whirlpool of nightmares
fission of dreams, desires, doubts
emerging, merging, submerging
laughing, dodging, hurting,
reconciling, deluding, fusing
unrequited dues of divinity
with wary aversion, the living pay
taxes on the air they breathe

ahl e nashaiman ka dar'd
kaisa hay, kya hay ilaaj
hum na samjhaiN haiN phir
samjhaiN kya khak

hay bus maiN kahaN humaray
zindagi ka dard na koi ilaaj e zeest
utaro saleeb say ik na'aye maseeha ko
zeh'n kay aasmaaNouN say kisi mehdi ko

the leaves scattered
forests petrified
selves triassic rock
once living
still living
though more dead...