timeless tales

hey koi khareedar?
achchaa hay maal, lay lo!
achchaa hay maal
sasta hay maal, lay lo!

yeh mad'd o jaz'r zindagi kay
the ebb and flow of life
subterranean constraints
in their tenuous hold
their master's dreams, desires
nightmares, she says!

****

high noon in a dark church
the first in the Caribbean, sir
flaking stone slabs, benches
covered in layers of dust
strafed with dried pigeon droppings
creating mar's surface maps
the walls witness to fervent
prayers, pleas and sighs
of worshippers long dust
now peace ................ silence
and pigeons with no olive branch
pigeons remind me of jamil naqsh



***

aisay hee guzray sajdouN ki baaz-gasht
sha'aer e mashriq nay suni hogi
musjid e qurtuba kay sukooN ko
darham kartay hu'aye

(a similar echo of past reverence
the poet of the east must have heard
reverberating in the peace
of cordoba mosque's courtyard)



***

in the marketplace sun
idols and ideals
competing for (market) share
freedom and choices aplenty
horns and speakers in competition

here
'my god
comes with better warranty, man'

there
'listen sir
your salvation lies with my god

kiosks selling bootlegged marley
t-shirts with pictures and puns
the wrinkled gap toothed cobbler
with a smile and an afro cap
the big mama selling fruits
sounds of life's disarray
lining the street in sun

hard to imagine
a year since earth trembled