jumairat ka rOz hay baba

a bird without wings*
a country with no post offices*
a part of a part with no soul
.......................respect i demand
.......................shorn of dignity
.......................did i peel it off
.......................when?
or
was it surrendered
.......................to force?
but
.......................incarcerated am not
.......................in a penitentiary
.......................hence insistent demand
.......................for restoration of dignity

and in the stillness of dark
i hear my father say
.......................son, deserve first
.......................before you demand
.......................deserve...

and bereft of dignity so long
have forgotten 'ven
......................how to beg for it


* poem by mahmud darwesh
* poem by agha shahid ali